JCP&L got the power turned on for 11,277 customers, 30,000-40,000 people since 6:30 this morning. That’s a far cry from the 8900 per hour Governor Christie said all utilities in the State were doing from Sunday through Wednesday.
Joan’s power is still out at the 55+ Riviera community in Freehold Township. Yesterday a JCP&L rep told Joan, “You are not a priority.” Today she was told, “There are only 10 houses out on your grid. We can’t get to it.”
In Highlands, the Paradise Park trailer park survived the storm but is still without power. On the opposite end of town, the Wyndmoor Condos, 125 units on Portland Rd. are still out. Trees fell at Wyndmoor breaking two utility poles. Word around the complex is that JCP&L and Verizon were squabbling over which utility was responsible. Whoever won that squabble, here we are on Thursday, the poles have been replaced and there is no power.
Paradise Park is surrounded by power. The adjacent marina and and county park have power. The residents do not.
Estimated Customers Out For
MONMOUTH County
As of Sep 1, 2011 7:50 PM
Joan (not her real name) from Freehold Township just called. She lives in the 55 and over Riviera development in Freehold Township.
Joan says that half of the development is still without power. She called JCP&L as was told, “You’re not a priority.” I don’t think that is what BPU President Lee Solomon had in mind when he advised JCP&L to have their people “tell the truth.”
Joan has evacuated to her son’s home in Camden County. Yet she is worried for her neighbors and friends, many of whom are invalids she says. “People are really suffering, their lives and health are at risk. Who can I call?”
I suggested calling the Freehold Township Police. “They’re too busy. We called for a man that needed medical attention and they said to take him to the emergency room. We called an ambulance and it never came.”
“Christie said on 101.5 to contact his office for anything, do you have his number?” I gave it to her.
Joan, who moved her from New York, says she has frequent power outages since she moved to Riviera. “JCP&L said they were aware of the problem, but nothing has improved. Their equipment is too old.”
Joan’s experience too common in the JCP&L service area. Her immediate emergency as well as her long term experience.
Power outages are an expected occurance in the JCP&L service areas. In the 17 years I have lived in a JCP&L service area I chalked it up to living on the ocean or or atop of a hill.
That is obviously not the case. Atlantic City Electric has only 92 active outages effecting only 148 customers.
JCP&L’s management and lack of infrastructure investment is the problem.
It was nice to wake up in air conditioning and not have to head off to Starbucks or McDonalds for power and Wifi.
I spent more time inside McDonalds this week since, well since ever. I would have had to work at a McDonalds to have spent more time inside one than I did this week. Perhaps it is an indication of the state of the economy. Perhaps it is a indication of McDonalds’ recruitment and training. Perhaps it is an indication of my prejudices. Perhaps all of the above. It seems to me that the people working at the McDonalds on Route 35 in Middletown and the one on Route 36 in Leonardo are decidedly more middle class than I expected. They are friendly, articulate, accommodating and industrious. No one asked me, “Would you like fries with that?” I learned what a McFlurry is.
Governor’s Conference Call
Last night I was invited to listen into a conference call Governor Christie held with his cabinet and elected officials throughout the State. Christie has been holding these calls at least daily since the days before Irene hit.
Despite the mixed reviews I had heard about these calls from several elected officials who had been on them during the week, I was impressed.
I am impressed with the quality of the team that Governor Christie has assembled to manage our State government. Over the course of my career I have participated in or been privy too several executive level conferences in both the private and public sector. In very large enterprises and small. Christie’s team stands out. They are extraordinarily competent and focused on getting the job done.
There was quite a bit of conversation about JCP&L. Monmouth County is not the only place suffering with JCP&L’s inadequate and disingenuous response to the storm. Mayor Timothy McDonough of Warren County’s Hope Township reported frustrations with JCP&L that are very similar to what we’ve experienced in Monmouth County.
BPU President Lee Solomon recounted a conversation with JCP&L executives who asked him what more he thought they should be doing. “Tell your people to tell the truth,” Soloman said, “if your people are talking to a mayor or councilman, tell them the truth. Don’t tell them what you think they want to hear or what you think will make them go away.” Imagine that.
Christie and Solomon said they’d be talking further about JCP&L after the call last night. Solomon said BPU was focused on getting all the power up and that JCP&L was on his radar for further work after the crisis has past.
Christie said that since Sunday the utilities have been restoring power at a rate of 8900 customers per hour. JCP&L has obviously been dragging down that average. Overnight last night they restored power at a rate of little over 1000 customers per hour just in Monmouth County.
The contrast between PSEG’s response to Irene and JCP&L’s response is like comparing the Yankees to the Mets. Sorry Governor.
PSEG vs. JCPL
As of early this morning, PSEG has 15,000 customerswithout power in their entire service area. There service area includes Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Union, Passaic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset Counties.
JCP&Lhas 19,314 customers without power just in Monmouth County. They have 13,834 customers without power in Morris County, 9934 in Sussex County, 5941 in Hunterdon County, 6732 in Somerset County, 3643 in Union County, 3324 in Essex, and 3124 in Warren. If I missed any…so did JCP&L.
A loyal MMM reader provided an antedotal contrast between PSEG and JCP&L:
My father was a construction super for PSE&G for 40 years. I am literally first person in my family who came to this country who not to work for PSE&G— great grandfather when it was a trolly car company, my grandfather, my father and uncles, etc. all worked for PSE&G. Every time there were events like this my father would be living in portable trailers at job sites for months at a time. He always said JCPL sucked and never invested in infrastructure since they were bought by First Energy out of Ohio. PSE&G would have to bail them out all the time. PSE&G is a New Jersey company with more than 100 year history here. Most of its employees all live here too. Note where First Energy’s executive’s live: https://www.firstenergycorp.com/about/leadership_team.html.
That story is consistent with the graphic that greets visitors to PSEG’s website:
Contrast that to the lunatic who says he’s a JCP&L lineman that has been harassing me and Mike Halfacre in the comments here and on facebook. I hope that rectum crater is not really a JCP&L lineman blogging during this crisis, but given the JCP&L response and the info he has given me to contact his union office, I wonder. I’ll be contacting his union and continuing to delete is his comments here.
Estimated Customers Out For
MONMOUTH County
As of Sep 1, 2011 6:29 AM
Governor Chris Christie and Board of Public Utilities President Lee Solomon have said their goal is to have all power restored in New Jersey by Friday. The only place in New Jersey without power now should be the places where rivers are flooding.
In Monmouth County there are still 31,145 JCPL customers, which is over 100,000 people, now three days after Irene left us. This is unacceptable.
The Spring Lakes have more customers reported out of power now than they did yesterday. Major fail.
5800 customers in Marlboro and Matawan, many of whom have been told by JCPL, “whoops” when informed that the power restoration messages were inaccurate, “you’re back on the bottom of the list, see ya in another 5 days.” No way. Get that frickin power on now.
5000 in the Bayshore, including all parts of Middletown, Holmdel, Union Beach, Keansburg and Keyport. Get that frickin power on now!
Atlantic Highlands still has 2400 customers, without power. Why? Don’t tell me how hard it is to get the power on in Thousand Oaks. Get it on.
Belmar still has 540 customers without power. Those renters from Staten Island are watching.
Asbury Park has 305 customers out. I can’t wait to read Dan Jacobson’s cogent argument on why that is the Asbury Park Press’s fault. That is if Dan can get his paper delivered tomorrow. Bring it to Highlands Dan, we’re open!
My business is one of the 637 customers in Belford still without power. Some in Belford who had power restored yesterday lost it again today. If power if off at my business tomorrow, I’ll have plenty of time to travel around the county taking pictures. If there are more than 4000 people in Monmouth County without power tomorrow, I’ll spend the day touring the county anyway. Just sayin’ JCP&L.
Bring more people in from Ohio. Call qualified retirees into service. Do what you have to do to serve your customers. We demand no less. Lives and livelihoods are at stake.
Posted: August 31st, 2011 | Author:Art Gallagher | Filed under:JCP&L | Tags:JCP&L | Comments Off on 31,145 Monmouth JCP&L Customer Still Without Power
The heat and humidity is coming back and asthmatics are beginning to suffer. So reports an MMM reader from Highlands who just called saying she was having a hard time breathing.
GET THE FRICKIN POWER ON!
Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore just called. JCP&L’s Roberta Sheridan called back and gave him an electric delivery 101 lesson. “All Available Men” are not at the substations because the substations are working. The problem is with circuits throughout the neighborhoods that must be repaired. That is where “all available men are” per Sheridan through Fiore.
All available men must be working out of Comcast, Verizon or Sewer trucks because there is not a JCP&L truck in the area that I have seen. If you see one, please post the location in the comments and I’ll run right over to take pictures.
Sheridan guaranteed Fiore that all of Middletown Township would have power by Friday.
That’s still too long as far as I am concerned.
Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre says he just heard the Governor’s office. Christie is ramping up the pressure on JCP&L. Christie’s representative told Halfacre that Monmouth County has more residents without power than all of the rest of the state.
Note to municipal elected officials. Fiore and Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre have demonstrated that the squeaking wheel gets the oil. Don’t be satisfied with the bullshit JCPL is feeding you. If you’re not satisfied with the answers your OEM team are getting through the established protocalls, call your legislators and the Governor’s office. Hold them to account. Feel free to use MMM the way Fiore, Halfacre and Toni Angelini have been. The public presssure is working.
Estimated Customers Out For
MONMOUTH County
As of Aug 31, 2011 2:46 PM
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.
Posted: August 31st, 2011 | Author:Art Gallagher | Filed under:JCP&L | Tags:JCP&L, Tony Fiore | Comments Off on Middletown Mayor Anthony P. Fiore Statement on Power Outages
JCP&L’s Belford Substation @ 12:48 PM, August 31, 2011
Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore reports that he has a call into JCP&L’s Roberta Sheridan. Fiore also said that Middletown GOP Chairman Peter Carton told him via email that “all available men” went to the Stone Church substation this morning and Navesink now has power.
Is JCP&L’s electronic message telling you your power has been turned on and it hasn’t?
Not that Angelini got much satisfaction from calling. In her Matawan neighborhood a crew “finished” repairs and an announcement went out that the power was back on. Problem was, half the neighborhood still didn’t have power. When one of the neighbors called a JCPL rep told the person “we didn’t know you didn’t have power.” The person was told the neighborhood went back on the list….the bottom of the list with a 5 day wait.
Maybe JCPL days are like dog years.
The tanker trucks are still heading up Route 36 from the Bayshore sewage plants without power. May I suggest the truckers deliver to a large fan outside a JCP&L office.
In Highlands, Councilwoman Becky Kane reports that the State of Emergency is still in effect and that there is a curfew from dusk till dawn.
In an email to a Highlands Google group this afternoon, Kane said that JCPL told Highlands OEM that power would likely be out for several days. At 1:47, a Highlands resident reported to the same group that has just been restored at Shore Dr. and Miller Street.
There is hope for power, but evidently not for a straight story from JCPL
It’s been three hours since JCP&L’s Roberta Sheridan told Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore that “all available men” would be dispatched to the Monmouth County Bayshore for repairs to the Belford substation and the Stone Church substation.
There are no men at Belford. There is not a JCP&L truck in sight. There’s Comcast and Verizon trucks, but no JCP&L. There are tanker trucks moving up and down Route 36 filled with sewage. Apparently the trucks are not the only thing full of shit around here.
JCP&L's Belford Substation at 10:10 AM, August 31, 2011
An angry and frustrated Fiore told MMM that the Governor’s office called him this morning to check on if he had heard from JCP&L.
Maybe the circuts that have to be repaired are off sight. Or maybe JCP&L is placating the Governor’s office while bullshitting municipal elected officials.
Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore called at 7:22 AM to report that JCP&L Government Affairs Representative Roberta Sheridan had just called.
JCP&L is moving “all available men,” into the Bayshore of Monmouth County. That’s about 300 workers, per Fiore. Work will finally get started on the Belford substation which powers most of the Bayshore.
Multiple sources have told MMM that the Belford station was a problem. JCPL (not Sheridan) has been saying that the substation was underwater (it wasn’t) that its old (it is) and that they didn’t know when they would get to it.
Yesterday afternoon they hadn’t gotten to it. It wasn’t wet, but it was rusty….on the top, not the bottom. It’s elevated and the ground was dry all around it. This was not one of the underwater substations.
In an ironic and infuriating twist, while I was inspecting the Belford substation yesterday, Comcast workers, who now use the former JCP&L building adjacent to the substation were taking delivery of small generators. Well one or two of them were taking delivery while 9 or 10 watched.
The Stone Church substation off Sears Ave in Atlantic Highlands is the other problem for Northeast Monmouth residents and businesses. The misinformation being spread to area elected officials by JCPL about this substation is disgusting. One story was that trees fell on it and destroyed it. Another story was trees fell on it and it “burnt up.” ” Burnt up” could mean a fire or it could mean a blown transformer. Neither was the case. No members of the Highlands, Atlantic Highlands or Navesink Fire Companies knew of any calls to the substation in the last week. MMM went to the substation. No signs of a recent fire or the lingering smell of a blown transformer. The substation was not underwater. There were sounds of electricity though!
Stone Church Substation, August 30, 2011
Fiore said that Sheridan told him that the real problem with the Stone Church substation is topography with the lines going to and from the station. Trees on the lines and downed lines will cause further delays to electric customers being serviced by this station.
Fiore has been a bulldog of an advocate for Middletown residents and the entire Bayshore during the aftermath of Irene. During the Real Jersey Guys Radio Show yesterday afternoon, Fiore couldn’t get through on the call in lines so he sent a text informing us that he had gotten through to the Governor’s office about the Bayshore situation and asked that the Belford and Stone Church substations be made a priority. The head office said they would do so. Within an hour lights started coming on in Belford and Atlantic Highlands. Then Sheridan called first thing this morning.
Here’s a recording of the radio show, in case you didn’t have power and are listening to it next week sometime.
The show featured Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre and stories of his multi-year battle with JCP&L and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande reporting on the great works of Monmouth volunteers, law enforcement and genuinely finding the silver lining in the mutliple Irene clouds.
The tanker trucks are still heading up Route 36 from the Bayshore sewage plants without power. May I suggest the truckers deliver to a large fan outside a JCP&L office.
Yesterday afternoon they hadn’t gotten to it. It wasn’t wet, but it was rusty….on the top, not the bottom. It’s elevated and the ground was dry all around it. This was not one of the underwater substations.
