System Must Be Restored from 'Substation Out,' JCP&L Rep. Says
Some, including Morristown mayor, question accuracy of power outage figures.
A lot of people are still without power. And, a lot of people are not too happy about it.
As of around 4 p.m. Thursday, over 146,000 Morris County residents were still in the dark. That included 65 percent in Morris Plains (1,597), 59 percent in Morris Township (5,111) and 35 percent in Morristown (3,387), according to the JCP&L outage map.
Some of those numbers have some a little skeptical.
Nicole Chubioglu wrote on the Morristown Patch Facebook page, "Got a call last nite from jcp&l stating they fixed the problem and power should be restored. But it wasn't."
Diana Pilas Chereches chimed in as well on the Facebook page, "We are still wit[h]out power on Wetmore by the dead end! Lidgerwood Parkway is also without power and they recieved the same call about the power being back on and it was not!"
Even the Morristown mayor, who does have power restored to his Wetmore Avenue home but said many there do not, said he has received calls from residents that have received calls from JCP&L saying their power has been restored when, "no, it's not," Tim Dougherty said.
"I'm not saying their information is not accurate," Dougherty said. "I don't necessarily believe the numbers [on the outage map] are accurate."
"I don't think only 30 percent of the community are out," he said.
Chris Eck, with JCP&L, said the utility "frequently hears complaints" that residents have not seen repair crews in their area.
He said the reason is "the system is restored from the substation out," he said. "It has to be repaired out to you. It's not we are purposely making a specific neighborhood last."
Eck said the most important part to consider is "how many miles those wires come from the power source." The longer the wires from its source, and the more damage, the longer it could take for repairs to be completed.
"It has to be repaired out to you," he said, adding that estimates over at least seven days for the majority of customers to have power was still in place as of Wednesday night.
Morris Township Business Administrator Tim Quinn asked residents to "try and understand how they work.
"They're not trying to annoy people," he said. "I'm the last house on the circuit [where I live]. Six houses up they are going to get their power back but I know I'm not until they fix that line."
Dougherty said, "we're on them as much we humanly can be."
He again advised those without that have not called the utility to do so, at 1-888-LIGHTSS. "They have to get that call in to generate the work order," he said. "Don't assume they know."
Tryclyde
5:26 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
Come on. They tied little yellow flags to the downed wires on my street. They're working hard!
neo
11:56 pm on Thursday, November 1, 2012
JCPL needs to do a much better job of communicating with the local town officials. 7 LIvingston schools are without power and as parents we can't plan because notices of school closing come one day at a time. I would prefer a realistic assessment and be able to take my kids to family outside this affected area without worrying about rushing back to get the kids back to school.
alexaqui
8:33 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
There are reports that non-unions crews were sent away from NJ. If this is truly the case, then these union crews need to be fired permanently and held accountable. It truly is amazing how bad JCPL is.
HH
11:08 am on Friday, November 2, 2012
JCPL needs to be held accountable for not reinvesting in NJ infrastructure. Wires need to be grounded and that costs money. I have been complaining for two years about the poor service at my home, and the fact that I really have NO CHOICE in electrical suppliers since JCP & L owns the lines. In last three storms, houses that are two blocks away from me have been restored in HALF of the time that it took JCP&L because they were owned by PSEG. It is ridiculous that our state and local officials do not have service level agreements with these big companies which HOLD them to a standard of performance.
TI
12:31 pm on Friday, November 2, 2012
HH, totally agreed with your comment. I have seen utility trucks came and went but nothing had been done around my area. we still have no power.
M R
12:53 pm on Friday, November 2, 2012
We Are told that power will be we stored from the substations out. How do we find out where the substations are?
Anonymous
10:30 pm on Friday, November 2, 2012
Alexaqui - those reports are FALSE. Please see http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/11/huntsville_utilities_denies_cl.html for a statement that involves actual journalistic research and not mere innuendo.
DP
12:31 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
I live in Rockaway Township and ALL the streets circling our complex has power and we still don't since 7:57 pm Monday night. There is absolutely no damage in our complex and our wiring is underground. I call JCP&L and keep getting hung up on. I'm frustrated beyond belief with lack of answers or explanations....
lisa guice
7:00 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Have. They forgotten about Hopatcong? We have not seen one truck or worker even attempting to fix the huge problem here the whole town is ojt of power down .ine and tranformers everywhere. How dare they turn any workers away union or not this is an emergency..if they know how to fix the problem let em work...its better than the alternative..being cold and not even being able to get gas to power generators...this town loses power every time the wind blow not just a major storm...it might be nice if they thought about finding out why or maybe trimming back the trees
stevep
8:53 am on Saturday, November 3, 2012
The alabama reports are false! That was a case of very bad journalism. weve been with out power since monday in lake hiawatha . The only house on my street,evidently i get my power from another street. But at least my home is still here! jcpl is working. Theyll get here eventually....some day...
pissed off in bayville
1:00 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
hello pissed off in bayville n.j i want to tell u something about your so called employees in your big trucks ,and out of state workers they have been hanging up at robert jay miller airpark all day when they should be out fixing honest peoples electric,we r cold u always get your money now we want our service i have pictures , to prove it ,shame on u jcp&l
sv
1:27 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
I am trying very hard to be positive but it is reall hard when this is the 5th day without power and I have yet to see a JCPL truck in my neighborhood. I also got a call stating power has been restored when it hasn't
Emma 713
10:55 pm on Saturday, November 3, 2012
Can't take anymore! We are cold and without running water. The sad thing: I can't look my 4 elderly neighbors (who live on both sides of us) in the face anymore lying about how we should have power "tomorrow". It's heartbreaking and I can not get them to leave their houses. I wish customer service actually read these to know what Is actually going on. But clearly, they don't care. And no I do not feel bad for these slow pokes who have yet to get our power on, they are getting paid while I am still out of work because of no power and not getting paid. THANK YOU FOR NOTHING,
Joe Serrano
10:51 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
What about the businesses without power at 2 cranberry rd. a lot of small companies will be going out of business and lots more laid off. This is
Todd J. Bertolini
11:01 am on Sunday, November 4, 2012
now they are paying for YEARS of half-assed patched up repairs. Crews from Michigan have replaced 3 damaged poles on my denville street, that were damaged by IRENE, these crews have admitted prior jcpl workmanship was shoddy at best. Bet they want the bill payed on time
stevep
6:32 pm on Sunday, November 4, 2012
The whole infastructure is old and desprately needs updating but they would want a huge rate increase to do that.where did all the obama money go? Remember when he got elected and promised money to repair the countries infastructure? what happened barack?