YOU GO MAYOR....The squeaky wheels get the oil and I am happy we have you being our squeaky wheel!

Does anyone know if any maps of outage areas are available from JCP&L or anywhere else? I can't even open the map on their website..

Here's the url of the jcp&l outage map: http://outages.firstenergycorp.com/nj.html

Anyway we can opt out of working with JCP&L? Can we switch companies? Maybe they would learn that way...hmmm

This is the 3rd time this has happened in a year. It's time that the town gets rid of JCPL and picks up PSEG. I appreciate the mayor putting pressure on JCPL, but he should have canned them after last years debacle. 8 trucks were in town yesterday sitting in a parking lot doing nothing. No more emails or phone calls. We want action!! Get JCPL out!!

Why we can't use Pseg or else?

A little late for this. I just moved here and have been incredibly unimpressed by this mayor lack of communication. He update his "blog" on the patch less than once a day during this disaster. He will not have my vote

I could not be prouder of our mayor. It's time we pressure the BPU to unite Springfield under a single electric provider, namely PSEG. JCPL is not only incompetent but they are greedy and under investigation by the Rate Board for profiteering.

can srpingfield's mayor threaten to revoke charter given to jcpl & give it to pseg? will this motivate jcpl to service springfield quicker & better? governor christie wants public schools to open monday. how can this happen when we can't even get jcpl to do more than "access" the situation? maybe if we were serviced by a nj companay, with nj employees who are familiar w/ our infrastructure, rather than an ohio company we would have power.

I saw 4 trucks last night working right behind Lakeside at Briant Park but still no power!

Just saw an Ohio First Energy truck w/bucket in the Riverside/Marion/Colonial area. He was just driving around looking at poles which they did the other day and didn't stop once. Way to go JCPL!!!

Duriing times like this with many people under stress from having incurred property damage, being displaced or from a lack of electricity, it is the governing bodys responsibility to speak on behalf of the residents. So while the mayor is the person speaking directly with the utility companies and other entities, the entire governing body and the OEM (Office of Emergency Management) is behind the efforts.
It is good that they are putting pressure on them, but at the same time don't sensationalize the situation. The TC was given information a few days ago explaining the sequence of events in regard to what occurs first, second, and so on regarding the restoration of power. That should have been communicated to the public so we'd have an idea of how long it will take. I don't think anything has changed since then as it relates to JCP&L and their crews. If the mayor had made that information public, while it might not have made people happy, at least it would have provided a more accurate assessment of the time line before power was restored and eliminated speculation and rumor.. Yelling at the utlitiy company makes it look like something is being done when in reality its more show then substance.

The mayor claims that Springfield is a disaster area and that is why it is taking long to restore power to residents. It does not look like a disaster area to me, but if he is convinced that it is, let him call in the state govt. asap, since they are giving extra money to true, "Disaster" Areas. Springfield suffered so much property loss during Irene, so lets get our power on before the rain storm predicted for this coming Wednesday and everyone's sump pumps fail again without electricity!! If not, maybe the town can supply temporay generators for those in need and at least we will not have flooded basements and homes again! The mayor and township should be our eyes and ears in times like this, but I don't see or hear them.

Anonymous, you obviously have a very weak grasp on reality. The Board of Health was not disbanded, but it's makeup changed, which STILL includes four independent citizens, three of which are medical doctors and the last which is an EMT (Me).

Can you point to ONE action taken by the Westfield Department of health in Springfield during this disaster? And how any of these actions would be handled by a less expensive Regional Department of Health?

Further, Springfield is a disaster area, and requests have been made to the COUNTY as is proper. The County then passes on those requests to the State, etc.

This is NOT a political issue, please don't make it one.

Outage maps shows 5,871 out of 7,413 without power. Does anyone know what part of town has power?

To all Springfield residents: do not vote in next coming Tuesday elections.

We need to get rid of JCP&L.....How can we do this??I also think the Mayor is doing a great job and keeping us well informed!!

Anonymous.....interesting that you spew your garbage but won't reveal your name. You should be ashamed of yourself. This is no time to berate anyone. If you have nothing positive to ad stay silent please. We are dealing with enough without your negativity.

I was wondering that too, what part of Springfield has power?

High point in Springfield power is on!

Just heard from a neighbor that power is back on the streets along Summit Rd!

Would we do better if our power lines were underground. Our power goes down 3 - 4 times a year. Sometimes for a few minutes, othertimes for hours, and then Sandy

Does the Patch have the ability to remove posts from anonymous posters that are clearly bad mouthing someone for political gain??? Shehady has done an amazing job, far greater than last year's ice storm mess. I had a great chance to talk to Shane this week who is insightful, and most of all level headed unlike a couple of nameless, an therefore cowardly, keyboard commandos who need to type in all caps. This is is the single greatest tragedy that has happened in this town, and people are anonymously making this political??? Get lost.

Hi there Fellow Springfield residence,I can not believe how childish some people are acting like.There are people out there that lost their lives from this storm,and your worrying about power Grow Up

I am all for getting rid of JCP&L. Clearly an energy company based in Ohio is not familiar enough with NJ infrastructure ti effectively serve companies in this state. I recognize that the damage caused by this stormwas much worse than Irene, so it will take longer to restore power. However PSE&G seems to be way ahead of the curve at getting power restored much faster. And even without Frankenstorm Sandy, my power has gone out 3-4 times in the last year; and not just for a few minutes or 1-2 hours. JCP&L is a horrible service provider. when this is all over I think everyone should pressure whomever we need to , to replace JCP&L with PSE&G

You can be sure that JCP&L will have their crew of meter readers out in full force reading the meters to prepare their bills which will go out on time. The lack of response by JCP&L is pathetic, and they should hold their head in shame. I think the only way this situation will be resolved quickly, if the Governor were to impose a $500,000 fine a day for each day power is not restored. I am sure you will see power come back quickly. The mayors of town can only do so much, it goes beyond their influence.

Logic and Reason: Consider that WE need to look at what we DO have control over rather than shift the blame to the utility companies, etc. It is a blow to many Springfield egos to find out that the world does not revolve around us nor do we have any clout even though we do pay an impressive amount in taxes. My husband and I just fininshed a post-hurricane debriefing to find out how we could better be prepared as a family for future events. It sounds like the Township of Springfield and its citizens need to assess both community and individual preparedness. Although we saw first hand the damage in Springfield, we are certainly better off than other communities that lost everything. Community preparedness should not be planned in the vaccum of government but with the participation of its citizens. The Township Committee should debrief the community and find out what the immediate needs were during and after the event. Then, come to a community consensus on how the Township can help its citizens during and after future events and how much taxpayers are willing to pay for these services. Citizens of this township need to be educated about emergency preparedness and make their own plans. Did we learn nothing from Katrina and its aftermath?

Ok Folks..can we all please take a deep breath and try and relax a little.. My wife and I just moved here in February and it seems like a nice town..As for the power outage. I have worked construction for the last 25 years, and the solution to this is not as simple as running a new extension cord to a big outlet. Unless you have physically seen all the damage done in the town, then you really have no way of knowing how long it will take. We are just 1 of 100's of towns without power. PSE&G also has 1000's of customers without power. Is it possible that the areas PSE&G service didn't get hit as hard as JCP&L's areas..Maybe they have more underground service than JCP&L does. All I am saying is that unless you understand what it takes to repair these lines, then you should not pass judgement on the men and women who are out there long hours repairing them. As for the poeple who see the trucks just sitting in parking lots doing nothing..Did you sit there and time how long they sat? Don't they deserve a break? Maybe lunch? Please..Its power...People have lost their lives, their homes, all their personal belongings. I am just trying to put this into perspective. Think about how long it took to put all these lines up..Do you think it was done in a couple days? NO..I have seen streets where the entire line is down. Its going to take time. Think about how much worse it could have been. Think about those who lost their lives. Pray for their families...Please....

Lets say a prayer for everyone who lost their homes or a loved one in this storm. I am also happy to say that power just came back on washington avenue. I just hope things come back to normal for everyone soon. This is not a political page. It is a page to talk about JCP & L. I know they are in Ohio so I do wish we could get someone else in here and take over. I dont know how the rules work in doing so however. PLease attend the next township commitee meeting and voice your opinion about JCP & L. Maybe there is a solution and maybe ther is not. I just dont know the rules in switching utilities.

That Kirsten Bischoff name is real. I know because I used to work with her a couple of years ago.

Word to the wise: to prevent basement flooding, buy a water powered sump pump. Yes I did say water powered. They run about $250 + installation. They actually run on water pressure. Google 'water powered sump pump' to learn more about it. No more worries about basement flooding due to loss of electricity.

Evergreen Ave just got power.

Meisel Avenue is back too the part close to milltown road has power. I cant speak for all of Meisel Avenue as for example part of Morris Ave. has power but accross the street the other side of Morris is still out.

Those pumps use the syphon effect to pull out 2 gallons from the sump for every 1 used from the house's water main. Google 'water powered sump pump' to research them. My mother had one installed after Irene last year.

Thank you for the information G. Albanese.