Heavy, Wet Snow Leads To Power Outages For Thousands Of Customers
MERCERVILLE, N.J., (CBS) -- Heavy, wet snow has led to power outages in parts of our area Monday night.
READ: Power Outages Affecting Greater Philadelphia Area
Since earlier Monday afternoon, some folks in this Mercerville neighborhood have been in the dark and according to PSE&G, in all some 3,000 customers lost power today.
That number at 11 p.m. is down to several hundred, and the hardest hit, Mercer County.
Lights out on any night is a nuisance, but being without power on this night with eight inches of snow and freezing temperatures outside:
"We're trying to keep active, just doing our best to get by," Kathy Hewitt of Mercerville said.
Kathy Hewitt is staying in and Glen Gater is thanking his trusty generator.
"I expected as soon as I wired everything up, the lights would come on," Glen Gater of Mercerville said.
Unfortunately not the case this time around.
"Power was off about 4 o'clock," Walter Chady said.
Leaving 89-year-old Chady and neighbors in the Mercerville section of Hamilton Township to rely on flashlights, candles and wood stoves to survive.
"It's an unprecedented amount of snow," Hamilton Township Mayor Kelly Yaede (R) said. "Naturally it does strain your budget."
And with this latest round, having to deal with downed wires and toppled trees knocking out power certainly added to the crews' work load. But Hamilton Township officials vow for as long as there is work to be done,their command center will remain open and concerns addressed immediately.
"If someone sends an email to me or a Facebook message at 3 o'clock in the morning, they will get a response," Yaede said.
As for those power outage outages, PSE&G brought in extra crews for this and this work will continue for as long as it is necessary to get everyone back online.