fbpx

Hornik calls for JCPL to provide a generator for every customer, incur fines of $500K per day during power outages or lose their franchise

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik

Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik sent a scathing four page letter to Board of Public Utilities (BPU) President Joseph Fiordalsio today wherein he blasted JCP&L’s response to Tropical Storm Isiasis and demanded that the State hold the public utility accountable.

BPU is the State Agency that regulates public utilities. Fiordalsio has been a member of the Board since he was appointed by Governor Richard Codey in 2008. Governor Phil Murphy appointed him President of the Board in 2018 and re-nominated him in 2019. The State Senate confirmed the re-nomination on May 30, 2019.

In his letter, Hornik said that over 90% of Marlboro electric customers lost power as a result of Isiasis. He said that JCPL’s response was “awful” and that the impact on Marlboro residents was “devastating.”

“JCPL’s strategy seems to be of ask for forgiveness,” Hornik said in a phone interview with MMM. “Forgiveness is all used up. They spent it on Sandy, Irene and numerous other minor storms since. Now it is time that the BPU and the State of New Jersey hold them accountable.”

The mayor proposed that JCPL provide every customer a permitted and installed generator and that they reimburse each locality they serve for the cost of hiring a liaison to communicate with customers during power outages.

“I was JCPL’s spokesperson in Marlboro during this storm, but the information they gave me was outdated and often inaccurate. They don’t have a plan,” he said on the phone.

Hornik, in his letter, said the utility should be fined $500,000 per day if they fail to comply with “measurable and concrete storm restoration criteria.”

“My criticism of JCPL’s response to his and previous storms is not to score points or even assign blame,” Hornik said in concluding his letter. “It is to demand accountability. I just want the problem fixed. The time is now–not after the next storm or the one after–for JCPL to be held accountable. Furthermore, it is time for company to replace lip service with dollars, not rate increases, directed to its customers. If the company is not willing or is incapable of investing in system upgrades and meeting acceptable levels of disaster response and communication, the Board should consider forcing them to sell their New Jersey franchise territories to a responsible local utility.”

Hornik’s letter is embedded below:

JCPLIsaiasForRelease

More from my site

Posted: August 10th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Monmouth County | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

4 Comments on “Hornik calls for JCPL to provide a generator for every customer, incur fines of $500K per day during power outages or lose their franchise”

  1. Sandy Finkelstein said at 9:20 am on August 11th, 2020:

    The Greenbriar senior community which has been here over 35 years should have been a priority. JCP&L should have known the consequences of such a storm to the elderly relying on electricity for their daily survival for many of them. Trees need to be cut on a regular basis. They need to be aware of their customer base and act accordingly.

  2. Great idea, Mayor, said at 6:54 pm on August 11th, 2020:

    and how much will residential and commercial electric rates go up, to pay for said “ free” generators?

  3. Laughable said at 3:05 am on August 12th, 2020:

    The Mayor’s statements are laughable. Does he really expect that the power company will actually pay to have generators installed in VERY house or maybe just his and his political allies. Just more attempts to get face time in the media and look good for the people of Marlboro. The only way to minimize the outages is to cut down the trees. Fat chance of that happening.

    In the end, just more HOT AIR from the Mayor

  4. LEO said at 8:58 pm on August 16th, 2020:

    I spoke to several out of state workers who said they were waiting for permission to work due to NJ Crony Virus isolation nonsense !!