UPDATE: Power Restored To All New Providence Residents

Update: Monday, 10 a.m.

The following information was posted on the borough web site this morning:

"According to information obtained from the JCP&L power has beenr estored to New Providence and Murray Hill residents. If you are without power, or are aware of a neighbor or friend without power, please call our police desk at 908-665-1111 to have the affected address listed on a form that will be faxed directly to JCP&L. You may also email the address to Mayor Hern at bhern@newprov.org or our Administrator Doug Marvin at dmarvin@newprov.org."

"The New Providence Department of Public Works continues a chipping program for storm damaged tree limbs and branches. Residents may place tree limbs and branches, up to 6 inches in diameter, of any length curbside. The DPW worked throughout the weekend and continues into this week to complete the work. ONCE THE DPW FINISHES THEIR WORK IN A NEIGHBORHOOD, THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETURN. If utilizing a landscaper or private contractor to perform the work, please ask them to remove the debris."

Update: Sunday, 6 p.m.

The following information was sent to Patch by the borough earlier this afternoon:

"According to information obtained from the JCP&L approximately 48 customers in New Providence and Murray Hill remain without power.   If you are without power, or are aware of a neighbor or friend in Providence without power, please call our police desk at 908-665-1111 to have the affected address listed on a form that will be faxed directly to JCP&L.  You may also email the address to Mayor Hern at bhern@newprov.org or our Administrator Doug Marvin at dmarvin@newprov.org."

Update: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

As of 3:11 p.m. today, the most current outage numbers reported by JCP&L are:

• 50 customers without power in New Providence
• 297 customers without power in Summit
• 51 customers without power in Berkeley Heights
• 68 customers without power in Murray Hill

The following information was posted on the borough web site today at 12 p.m.:

According to information obtained from the JCP&L outage web-site, approximately 3541 New Providence and Murray Hill customers have had their power restored since Tuesday. Unfortunately, 227 customers in New Providence and Murray Hill remain without power. JCP&L crews are working in affected areas today. During the 4 PM conference call with Don Lynch, president of JCP&L , we were advised that 95% of the 300,000 + NJ customers without power have been restored. JCP&L reports that 14,000 customers remain without power, 227 of which are in New Providence. JCP&L again reports they expect the remaining customers will be restored by tomorrow night. However, the do admit that some extraordinarily hard hit areas may take longer.

Update: Friday, 5 p.m.

The following information was posted on the borough web site late this afternoon:

"We understand the frustration our residents are experiencing due to the loss of electricity. I wanted to write to let you know what we’re doing (or trying to do) in dealing with JCP&L.

Mayor Hern and I participate in a daily conference call with the president of JCP&L, Don Lynch. Although Mr. Lynch only provides an overview of the activities and restoration on state-wide basis, we try to work with our area managers for more specific information to New Providence and Murray Hill.

A common complaint from all of the mayors in the affected service areas is the lack of response to their towns. Mayor Hern has expressed his frustration with JCP&L about the response and communication with borough officials, who our residents look to for the latest information. Each day, I ask our Public Works Manager to give me an update on the status of JCP&L crews working in New Providence. I assure that New Providence is not being overlooked in favor of other towns. In fact, each day this week, JCP&L has had between 6-8 crews working in New Providence. Today (Friday), I’m told that a total of 10 crews are working in each area of town that remains without power.

Each afternoon, we receive a list of streets that remain without power and an estimate as to when the power will be restored. While the list at times seems incomplete, other streets in your area should help provide some guidance on the restoration. These are JCP&L’s best estimates. We post this information on our web-site as soon as it is received.

As of this time, (3 p.m. – Friday) New Providence and Murray Hill have 317 residents without power. If you’re one of our residents still without power, it is little consolation that progress is being made, with 3,451 customers restored.

Our Public Works Department will be working throughout town chipping tree limbs and branches that have been placed curbside. They can take limbs and branches up to 6” in diameter of any length. If you have not been able to place your material at the curb yet, arrangements can be made with the DPW to come back to retrieve your material. They will be working through the weekend.

If you have not signed up for Code Red, please do so by visiting our web-site and clicking on the “subscribe” bottom at the top and then Code Red. Fill in the information, adding your home phone and cell phone to receive telephone updates.

As information becomes available, we will update the web-site. We continue to do all we can to push JCP&L for full restoration of power to our residents.

Regards,

Doug Marvin, Borough Administrator"

As of 12:49 p.m. today, the most current outage numbers reported by JCP&L are:

• 59 customers without power in New Providence
• 595 customers without power in Summit
• 204 customers without power in Berkeley Heights
• 138 customers without power in Murray Hill

Update: Friday, 12:50 p.m.

Borough officials have decided to only allow trick-or-treating today in the business district from 3 to 6 p.m. and throughout the borough tomorrow afternoon, according to the borough's web site.

"Many downed power lines and fallen tree branches remain. Our DPW crews will be working through the weekend to remove tree limbs and branches," according to the borough's web site. "According to JCP&L, 385 customers in New Providence and Murray Hill remain without power, with full restoration expected by tomorrow. Therefore, neighborhood trick-or-treating will be postponed until Sunday, Nov. 6 and limited from 3 to 6 p.m. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this difficult period."

As of 12:49 p.m. today, the most current outage numbers reported by JCP&L are:

• 116 customers without power in New Providence
• 761 customers without power in Summit
• 330 customers without power in Berkeley Heights
• 207 customers without power in Murray Hill

Update: Friday, 10 a.m.

As of 9:42 a.m. today, the most current outage numbers reported by JCP&L are:

• 117 customers without power in New Providence
• 868 customers without power in Summit
• 439 customers without power in Berkeley Heights
• 232 customers without power in Murray Hill

JCP&L issued an updated street-by-street power restoration timeline to the borough yesterday, which can be found here. Remember, the timeline is only an estimate.

Original Story

Power restoration throughout New Providence continues to progress today, with less than 1,000 customers still without power.

, many residents have reported to Patch and to the borough that the timeline is inaccurate.

But Rob Morano, a JCP&L spokesman, said that timeline is just an estimate.

“Many times when the crews go out to make the repairs, the individual repairs that need to be made will take longer and that’s why they’re not always accurate,” Morano told Patch Thursday afternoon. “But they are estimates that are based upon the assessment information we have. Many times we go out there, the repair requires more work than anticipated, which basically postpones [power restoration] a little bit.”

While JCP&L crews continue to restore power throughout New Providence and the surrounding communities, and the company is on pace to meet their deadlines, Morano said there may be some customers who require more work to their properties and may not have power back by the set deadlines.

“We are on pace to meet our deadlines, which is 95% by midnight tonight and the remaining by midnight tomorrow,” he said. “However, I will tell you during restoration efforts, you’re going to have some customers — individual customers or a group of customers — who may require extensive work. You’re going to have some customers who need an electrician or other work done on their house. There’s always a possibility when you’re doing a restoration of this type that there will be some customers that require additional work or have individual needs that will go beyond the deadline.”

In the Code Red Alert message issued this afternoon, the New Providence Office of Emergency Management also reminded residents that the timeline issued by JCP&L is just an estimate, "with local government officials having no control over JCP&L priorities. We will provide an updated list as soon as it is received from JCP&L. Some residents have reported that their street is not on the list, or the list shows that power was to be restored yesterday. If your street is not on the list, look for an adjoining street, as you are likely on the same grid. As stated earlier, this is an estimate from JCP&L who may have experienced a more significant issue than originally anticipated."

As of 2 p.m. today, New Providence Deputy Police Chief Scott Torre said the borough has not received any further updates from JCP&L regarding street-by-street power restoration.

“I know they’re out there working and I think they’re doing a pretty good job. They had a lot to deal with,” Torre told Patch Thursday afternoon. “When I came in Sunday, I didn’t know where we were going to begin. Now it’s five days later and I think we’ve made a lot of headway. I know a lot of people are frustrated because their power is out, but it was an overwhelming catastrophe that we had here.”

This morning, some residents reported to Patch that the Murray Hill section was not included in the street-by-street power restoration timeline.

While Torre said he doesn’t have a timeline specifically for Murray Hill, he thinks that area was hit harder than most areas of the borough. 

“I would think they would be the last to have [power restored] in town,” Torre said. “There’s so much [damage] up there still. You ride down the streets down by [the Municipal Center] and you see the progress. There really hasn’t been any progress up [in Murray Hill].”

Update on Progress and Closed Roads

According to the Code Red Alert message issued this afternoon, crews from the tree and power companies are working in the following areas today:

• Pittsford Way
• Central Avenue between South Street and Livingston Avenue
• The Tall Oaks section
• The Fellsway section
• Southgate Road area
• Hickson Drive area

As of 2 p.m. today, Torre told Patch that the following areas remain closed to vehicular traffic due to a combination of downed power lines and trees:

• Mountain Avenue at Seven Oaks Drive
• Division Avenue at Mountain Avenue
• Pittsford way
• Central Avenue and Livingston Avenue
• Greenwood
• Salem Road
• Forest
• Woodcrest
• Verona Road
• Clinton Avenue
• Madison Avenue

The traffic light at Springfield Avenue and Maple Street is still being power by a generator, Torre said.

Progress has been made throughout the borough since yesterday, according to the Code Red Alert message, with power restored to the Runnymede, Magnolia and Union Avenue areas. “In addition, the western end of Springfield Avenue was restored yesterday. Eight JCP&L crews and 12 tree crews continue to work to restore power.”

Schools Open Tomorrow

While school was out each day this week due to extensive power outages, Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Miceli announced that school will be open on Friday, Nov. 4 on the district's web site.

Earlier this afternoon, Miceli said, "I’m hoping JCP&L can address some of the power issues that we still have and that overall, the neighborhoods throughout the entire community are a little bit safer. We were trying to actually open today, but one of the major issues was there were still too many power lines down and it was unsafe for kids to walk or ride their bikes with respect to the sidewalks and the various roads to the schools.”

If you have a child who walks or rides their bike to school, the school district advises you plan a safe route since there are still areas in town that continue to be impacted by the storm.

"Please notify the main office of your child's school if there are individual circumstances that warrant an absence (excused absence)," according to the school district's web site. "Salt Brook students and staff: please be advised that as of 3 p.m. today, the building has 75% power. There is no heat in the building, please dress warmly. Students are also encouraged to bring their own lunch. The Salt Brook kitchen will only be able to serve a cold lunch. Due to the circumstances mentioned, if parents wish to keep their children home, please inform the main office, and it will be an excused absence for the day."

Additional Information

In the Code Red Alert message issued this afternoon, the borough also reminded residents that the borough website is accessible from a smart phone by typing http://www.newprov.org and encourages residents to share information with friends and neighbors who may not have internet access.

"The DPW started a chipping program for storm damaged tree limbs and branches. Residents may place tree limbs and branches, up to 6 inches in diameter, of any length, at curbside. The DPW will be working throughout town. If utilizing a landscaper or private contractor to perform the work, please ask them to remove the debris," according to the Code Red Alert message. "If electrical work is needed to reattach wires to your home, please check with your licensed electrical contractor as to whether permits are required. The borough is waiving the permit fees for any electrical permits issued as a result of the storm."

Borough officials continue to pressure JCP&L to have restoration work completed as quickly as possible, according to the message, and the borough participates in a daily conference call with the president of JCP&L to receive state-wide updates.

"While obtaining specific local information has been challenging, we maintain regular contact with our JCP&L regional manager to receive as much attention as possible, considering the wide-spread nature of this event," according to the Code Red Alert message. "Once again, thank-you for your understanding and patience during this extraordinarily difficult time."

Continue to check New Providence Patch for further updates.

Are there still trees and wires down on your street? Is your power still out? How are you coping with the power outages this week? Tell us in the comments below.

Stay safe!