How Was Your Electric Service During Hurricane Sandy? NJBPU Wants to Know
If your electric service was out for weeks, you can vent at a series of statewide BPU hearings
Much of New Jersey was spared the Hurricane Sandy storm surge that destroyed so much of the shore areas. But for those who missed that part of the hurricane, the next worst thing that happened was the loss of electric power.
In some parts of the state, the power outages lasted for as long as two weeks. Now the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) wants to know what consumers think about how their local electric utilities handled the hurricane.
The BPU is seeking public input in a series of public forums throughout the state. Two hearings involving the performance of Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) are scheduled. The first takes place on Monday, December 10 from 4 pm to 7 pm at the William Annin School in Basking Ridge, and the second on Tuesday, December 18, from 4 pm to 7 pm at Hopatcong Middle School.
Another hearing involving Rockland Electric Company is scheduled for Wednesday, December 12, in Ramsey.
These are just the beginnings of hearings that will held statewide, said BPU spokesman Earl Pierce.
"We're still deciding the schedule. There will be more set up throughout the state," Pierce said.
That will also include other power companies, such as PSEG, which handles the electric needs of most of Middlesex and part of Mercer counties.
Many PSEG customers experienced intermittant outages in the weeks following Hurricane Sandy. In Woodbridge and the surrounding area, that was because of the storm surge flooding of the Sewaren substation.
Pierce couldn't say if the hearings would be held in either Middlesex or Mercer counties.
"It's too early at this point. We'll know more later," he said.
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stephen mckessy
8:02 am on Friday, December 7, 2012
On port reading Ave was on and off mostly off for a day and a couple hours another day still cost me a couple hundred dollars to buy generator and gas because the system can't be trusted to me anymore but I'm sure others were much worse but still didn't need the expense so close to holidays
PicklesthePup
10:47 am on Friday, December 7, 2012
We were 11 days without power. For the first three days, we were told that service had been restored to our area when we called. On day 8, we saw the first electric worker in our neighborhood and he was kind enough to tell us that they had no idea we had no power but he was driving around looking at every pole and transformer to try and pin-point it.
Caroline Hawkins
8:08 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012
We were without electric for four days. I didn't have a generator . however I had a small radio that picked up tv, am, and FM stations. Then I had the lamps that look like the old fashion lantern we had on the farm for the barn, plus the battery lights that look like light bulbs. I had plenty light. However I din't have heat so I light the kitchen stovr and put water on it and made my own heat. I made it however my food in my freezer went bad.