Chatham Officials Join In JCP&L Push

CHATHAM, NJ—The mayor of Chatham Borough, the deputy mayor of Chatham Township, and six borough and township officials joined other Morris County representatives on Friday to demand improvements and restitution from JCP&L after last week's blackout.

"Families and businesses were forced to throw out food and dispose of medicine," said the officials. "The impact of losing power for such a prolonged period is unacceptable and action needs to be taken to protect our homes and businesses from future outages."

Chatham Borough Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz, Chatham Township Deputy Mayor Tracy Ness, borough councilwomen Carolyn Dempsey, Irene Treloar, Jocelyn Mathiasen, and Karen Koronkiewicz; and committeewomen Celeste Fondaco and Stacey Ewald of the township all supported the statement.

"We demand that JCP&L improve their processes and make tangible, necessary improvements," said the officials. "We ask the Board of Public Utilities to mandate improvements and restitution."

JCP&L representatives said the company does not reimburse for lost food, medicine, or other perishables, but suggested customers contact their insurance company.

The Morris officials also demanded that the power provider install "smart" reset devices and utility poles, weather-proof substations, improve the process of bringing in out-of-state workers to help, and provide better communication to customers.

The letter called on the state BPU to ensure these changes are made, but JCP&L said the infrastructure improvements are already happening.

"Our Reliability Plus Program will provide enhancements...with an additional $97 million in targeted investments aimed at addressing tree damage to the distribution system caused by severe weather," said Cliff Cole, JCP&L spokesman. "JCP&L brought in workers from out of state before the storm, and we deployed more than 8,000 workers around the clock to restore power."

The officials said the blackout was not only inconvenient, but dangerous, and eroded trust in the company's reliability and service.

"Without major improvements to our electrical infrastructure," the statement said, "and support for those who suffer losses during prolonged outages, public confidence in the utility system will continue to wane."