Demanding Answers: Some JCP&L Customers Told Not To Expect Power Until Next Week
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Frustrated and fired up, some New Jersey residents are being told not to expect power until next week.
They are customers of the the utility Jersey Central Power and Light, which has the most outages.
CBS2's Lisa Rozner has been demanding answers.
The mayor of Basking Ridge told Rozner more than half of the residents there haven't had power since Tuesday. It's the same story in towns across the state. There are roads blocked by downed trees, and no crews in sight.
"I said my brother's on oxygen. The oxygen machine is not working without electricity," said Basking Ridge resident Sara Delahanty.
Delahanty isn't getting anywhere when she calls JCP&L about getting power restored for her brother, Ken.
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"With no AC and no nothing, it's heavy and it bothers his breathing, too," she said.
"You never can get through on the phone," said Basking Ridge resident Suzanne Schwarz.
Neighbors said the local ShopRite that JCP&L said will give free ice and water is out, and they haven't seen one utility truck in town.
"Given what they charge and the inconvenience, if there's anything else you'd get rid of them," said Basking Ridge resident Simon Perry.
The mayor of Basking Ridge welcomes that idea. He blames company executives in Ohio for bad communication.
"Completely unacceptable thus far," said Mayor Jim Baldassare. "They've had more than enough time to have boots on the ground here."
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Customers in Wayne are asking, "What do you do all day?"
In Springfield, one social media post reads, "Where are you?"
The mayor of Robbinsville said it's only the half of his town that's serviced by JCP&L that's still in the dark.
"From my perspective, it's literally like watching a Little League team play the Yankees," said Robbinsville Township Mayor Dave Fried. "They need to do better. They absolutely have been promising for years that they would do better and they have not."
So Rozner demanded answers.
"Was JCPL prepared for this?" Rozner asked.
"We certainly were. We also have our own weather forecasters as well and we had already staged crews here and brought crews here," said JCP&L spokesman Todd Meyers.
Meyers said stronger winds caused heavier damage than anticipated, and it occupied crews in Pennsylvania.
As for updating residents?
"This time around they're just not hearing anything. Do you know why that is?" Rozner asked.
"We've been pushing out information on our media platforms," Meyers said.
The president of the New Jersey agency that oversees utilities was empathetic, but said this:
"We've come a long way, honestly, from Sandy. And we still have a long way to go and we're constantly overseeing what is going on," said Joseph Fiordaliso, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
