After weeks of testimony from customers left in the cold and dark by damage from severe winter storms, state
regulators on July 25 ordered Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) to clean
up its storm-response act. Recommendations issued by the State of New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) include hiring more skilled workers, training more workers
in damage-assessment, and making sure call centers can track where crews are
working to restore power. Regulators also told the utility to better manage crews
sent by outside entities to repair storm damage, and to review its program for
managing trees and vegetation around power lines.
The order came in the wake of public hearings about the failure of utilities statewide to repair power outages caused by a series of norāeasters in March. Other utilities targeted included, among others, Public Service Electric & Gas Company and Rockland Electric Company, both in northern New Jersey, and Atlantic City Electric Company.
According to the BPU's order, thousands of customers, mostly in northern New Jersey, were without power for up to 11 days, spending some of that time in back-to-back storms. Customers at the public hearings testified about going without power for days, and about receiving erroneous notices about estimated times of service restoration. Some customers said they received notices that power had been restored when it had not been restored. Those who had sought shelter with friends or relatives or at hotels reported leaving those places and coming home to conditions where power was still out, the order said.
Also, what the regulators in the order called āa significant majority of the commenters from many different townshipsā observed utility crews parked for several hours, āapparently awaiting instructions while large swaths of communities waited to have power restored.ā
āCrews were seen leaving a work site prior to completing the job at hand only to return to the same location several hours later to finish,ā the report said.
In press release dated July 13--more than one week ahead of the release of BPU's order-- JCP&L said it had submitted to the BPU a four-year plan āaimed at enhancing the reliability and resiliency of its distribution system against severe weather and reducing the frequency and duration of power outages.ā
The plan includes what the utility called ānearly 4,000 enhancementsā to maintain overhead and underground distribution lines, new equipment to reduce the frequency and duration of outages, and reducing the potential for tree damage, which the JCP&L called the primary cause of outages during severe storms in its service area.
JCP&L president Jim Fakult said the program is focused on limiting damage during sever-weather events.
"The new equipment, along with enhanced vegetation management, builds on our ongoing efforts to ensure customer service reliability and resiliency," Fakult said.
JCP&L has more than 1.1 million customers throughout the state, with 285,961 in Monmouth County, according to the utility's website.
The order came in the wake of public hearings about the failure of utilities statewide to repair power outages caused by a series of norāeasters in March. Other utilities targeted included, among others, Public Service Electric & Gas Company and Rockland Electric Company, both in northern New Jersey, and Atlantic City Electric Company.
According to the BPU's order, thousands of customers, mostly in northern New Jersey, were without power for up to 11 days, spending some of that time in back-to-back storms. Customers at the public hearings testified about going without power for days, and about receiving erroneous notices about estimated times of service restoration. Some customers said they received notices that power had been restored when it had not been restored. Those who had sought shelter with friends or relatives or at hotels reported leaving those places and coming home to conditions where power was still out, the order said.
Also, what the regulators in the order called āa significant majority of the commenters from many different townshipsā observed utility crews parked for several hours, āapparently awaiting instructions while large swaths of communities waited to have power restored.ā
āCrews were seen leaving a work site prior to completing the job at hand only to return to the same location several hours later to finish,ā the report said.
In press release dated July 13--more than one week ahead of the release of BPU's order-- JCP&L said it had submitted to the BPU a four-year plan āaimed at enhancing the reliability and resiliency of its distribution system against severe weather and reducing the frequency and duration of power outages.ā
The plan includes what the utility called ānearly 4,000 enhancementsā to maintain overhead and underground distribution lines, new equipment to reduce the frequency and duration of outages, and reducing the potential for tree damage, which the JCP&L called the primary cause of outages during severe storms in its service area.
JCP&L president Jim Fakult said the program is focused on limiting damage during sever-weather events.
"The new equipment, along with enhanced vegetation management, builds on our ongoing efforts to ensure customer service reliability and resiliency," Fakult said.
JCP&L has more than 1.1 million customers throughout the state, with 285,961 in Monmouth County, according to the utility's website.
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