Middletown Mayor Anthony P. Fiore Statement on Power Outages

I have been informed that additional resources are being deployed to Middletown Township to get power restored to all Middletown residents as quickly as possible. These resources come after consistent phone calls to Governor Christie and JCP&L representatives. I have been informed that the Belford substation and the Stone Church substation, which affects Navesink, have been given the highest priority.

I understand many residents are frustrated that they are still dealing with power outages and downed trees entangled in power lines. For safety reasons, township crews cannot touch any trees that have power lines on them. They can only be touched by the utility. Once the substations are repaired, we expect to see JCP&L accelerate repair of primary and secondary wires along roadways. Meanwhile, Township crews are working feverishly to remove trees and tree parts from roadways that do not involve power lines. Our crews also stand ready to assist JCP&L with tree removal after utility company crews clear the power lines.

Middletown Township was well-prepared for this hurricane. We are currently in the storm recovery phase. An emergency brush collection will start town-wide on Wednesday, September 7. We will continue to do all we can do to pressure the Governor and JCP&L to get the power restored.