Storm Left Thousands Without Power In Western Monmouth: JCP&L

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — Up to 10,489 customers lost power in Monmouth County from the Tuesday night storm, and that number was reduced to 2,028 by 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to JCP&L online updates.

"Freehold is one of our hardest hit areas," said Chris Hoenig, JCP&L spokesman, on Wednesday morning. He said high winds brought lots of tree damage - and, with that, damage to wires and utility poles.

There was a wind advisory in effect for Monmouth County until 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, with gusts up to 45 mph.

Hoenig said the utility will "work from the largest outage down to the smallest, so single-customer outages will see much later times."

Here are customer outages in the hardest-hit Western Monmouth towns as of Wednesday at 8 p.m. The information comes from an online JCP&L posting that is regularly updated:

• Colts Neck: 303, down from 1,088
• Freehold Borough: 24, down from 985
• Freehold Township: 69, down from 990
• Howell: 19, down from 534
• Manalapan: 170, down from 1,078
• Marlboro: 947, down from 2,169
• Millstone: 162, down from 1,225

Marlboro opened a charging/warming station at the township Recreation Center and is keeping it open all night.

Although latest outage numbers indicate there were still 947 customers without power, Mayor Jonathan Hornik in an update to residents said the utility expects restoration of most customers by Wednesday night.

To report an outage, go to firstenergycorp.com/outages, call 888-544-4877 or text OUT to 544487. Do not contact police about a power outage.