'Utility Emergency' on South Street Leaves None Without Power

A Morristown Police Department issued alert via the Nixle.com service at about 3:40 p.m. on Wednesday advising drivers of a "utility emergency" was ultimately a minor overheating of a circuit system in front of 149 South St.

Still, that did not stop utility workers and Mayor Tim Dougherty from rushing to the scene.

"I know I moved fast when I got the call," said JCP&L technician Doug Mooney.

Mooney said routine maintenance had caused the minor overheating of a "multi-point junction" when power from a transformer had been rerouted. He said, with the temperatures getting up to 90 degrees, a lot more power was being used, causing the reroute to result in the overheating.

"Nothing burned," Mooney said, pointing to the circuitry. "We're putting cool air on it to cool it off."

South Street is no stranger to power problems. The Morristown & Morris Township Library was closed for several months after what ." While just a few weeks ago,

Dougherty said he got a call from JCP&L representative Stan Prater "pretty quickly" when word had gone down of the "utility emergency."

"JCP&L is jumping on anything in the town," the mayor said, noting there had been no power loss to customers as a result of the overheating.

Mooney said crews would be cleared from the scene shortly.