Power Outage Cause Remains Unclear In Manchester; Legislators Want Answers

MANCHESTER, NJ — A group of state legislators are calling on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to take action following a lengthy power outage in Manchester Township just before Christmas that affected thousands of residents.

In a letter to the BPU dated Dec. 24, state Sen. Carmen Amato and Assemblymen Brian Rumpf and Greg Myhre of the 9th District called the Jersey Central Power and Light outage that lasted from Dec. 23 into Dec. 24 an "unacceptable situation."

"The power outages, which have proven to be widespread, have had far-reaching impacts on the township's residents, including those living in senior communities," the letter said.

More than 5,000 homes and businesses were without electricity, leaving many senior residents without heat on a day where temperatures started in the teens and hovered in the low to mid-20s. Manchester Township officials opened warming centers, then transitioned to an overnight shelter at Manchester Township High School.

Manchester police drove residents to the shelters and performed welfare checks to ensure no residents were in danger from the cold or issues with medical equipment that needed electricity. Power wasn't fully restored until Tuesday morning, drawing widespread complaints from residents.

"We understand our customers’ frustration — there is never a good time for a power outage," Hoenig said. "We appreciate the legislators’ outreach and look forward to working with them, as well as the BPU, as we continue to work to upgrade our infrastructure throughout our service area."

The letter from Amato, Rumpf and Myhre said the length of time it took to restore power is a concern, but also a concern was how an outage its size "occurred in the first place, especially so close to the holidays."

"Ratepayers who have rate increases consistently imposed on them by utility companies certainly deserve better service as well as answers to the cause of this power outage," the legislators said.

In June, JCP&L's rates increased 8.6 percent under an approval from the BPU, which sparked complaints when the price increase hit during a heat wave that prompted higher air conditioning usage.

Read the full letter below: