Community Corner

JCP&L: Most Power to be Restored by the Weekend

Spokesman says repairs take time that many areas are damaged.

With customers becoming increasingly impatient with power outages, Jersey Central Power & Light says they will have most power back on by the weekend.

According to JCP&L’s online outage map, over 1,900 Springfield households still lack power. Homes and businesses on Short Hills Ave., Henshaw Ave., Tulip Road lack power, as do parts of Wabeno Ave., Hillside Ave., and parts of Mountain Ave. and Spring Brook Road. A handful of traffic lights are out as well, and several residents are losing their patience.

“The situation is strange because some neighbors do have power but half do not,” Spring Brook Road resident Tom Groppe said in an email. “We have some elderly folks here and a woman with four kids who is due to give birth to her fifth child Thursday morning. And of course, there are lots of wet basements that can't be pumped out or cleaned up until we get some juice.”

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Springfield Township Administrator Anthony Cancro said he has been in contact with the communications center JCP&L set up for the hurricane and that Union county spoke with JCP&L executives on the Township’s behalf to hasten repairs.

JCP&L spokesman Todd Meyers said that tropical storm Irene caused a record number of outages in New Jersey.

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“We had about 670,000 out of power from the storm,” Meyers said. “That’s just about half of our customers in the state.

Over 220,000 households still lack power, Meyers said, but the repair effort has been significant so far, with electricity restored to 442,000 customers.

Meyers said repairs are taking place throughout the state and that most power will be back up by the weekend. JCP&L is part of energy company FirstEnergy, which also owns electric services in Pennsylvania and Ohio. They have pulled in crews from those states to work on repairs in New Jersey.

Meyers said the company was prioritizing repairs for public buildings and critical facilities first, then trying to repair damage effecting the largest number of customers.

A number of Springfield residents have seen JCP&L crews assessing damaged areas and have expressed frustration that the crews have not begun repairs. Meyers said repairing electrical equipment need to be deliberate to ensure safety.

“We have to make sure the area is safe and block it off from the public,” Meyers said.

Meyers said the company did not plan on reimbursing customers for food spoiled due to lack of refrigeration. He added that he understood peoples’ frustration with lacking power.

“I empathize with customers who are impacted by the hurricane,” Meyers said, adding that the storm damage is widespread and that restoration will take time. “There are far more places in need of repairs than there are crews.”


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