More Than 537K Without Power In NJ
More than 537,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey still don't have electricity more than a week after Superstorm Sandy battered the state as two Florida linesman help save the lives of two teenage boys.
Public Service Electric & Gas has restored service to about 87 percent of its customers affected by the storm. The utility says 272,000 remain without service. It has restored the Bayonne substation and is working to get one remaining in Hudson County operational.
The utility also says they have restored 98 percent of our customers in their Southern region that includes portions of Burlington, Mercer, Camden and Gloucester counties. As work is completed, crews will be reassigned to work in other parts of the state.
The company cited three workers: Clay Maxley, Sr, Warren Simmons, Kenneth Simmons ( a father and son team) from Florida utility On Power Energy for banging on the door of a home when they spotted smoke. Two teenage boys and their dog got out moments before fire ripped through the house.
Jersey Central Power & Light is reporting 251,000 outages, mainly in Ocean, Monmouth and Morris counties.
The utility says the "vast majority" of customers will be restored by Wednesday but cautions that customers in harder-hit areas, including those in damaged rural areas or near the shore, can expect to be restored throughout the following week.
In some areas where roads, infrastructure, homes and businesses were destroyed, restoration is currently impossible. This includes many communities on the barrier islands of Monmouth and Ocean counties.
"We continue to accept crews from all over the country and we are putting them to work as fast as they can get here. This is one of the worst storms in New Jersey's history and crews are working around the clock to clear roads, replace downed poles and wires, and restore service," said Don Lynch, President of JCP&L. "Nearly every JCP&L customer has been affected by this storm and we understand their concern and frustration. We continue to work with state and federal agencies to make sure we have all the resources necessary to restore power to our customers."
Orange & Rockland is working to restore power to 13,913.
Atlantic City Electric has whittled its outages down to 227, mostly in Atlantic County.
Governor Christie, who got power back Monday night at his Mendham home, says he won't be happy until every New Jersey resident has power restored. He warned the coming Nor'easter could cause new
outages.
Restoration maps provided to the Governor’s office by the utilities
- Atlantic City Electric calendar
- JCP&L calendar
- PSE&G calendar