Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Officials, residents raise concerns at third BPU hearing about utility company's storm response.
Nearly two months after Hurricane Sandy pummeled through the Northeast, the frustration about the communication from state officials and power companies in the storm aftermath is still a major discussion among members of the public. The quality and accuracy of the information flow was the key subject brought up at the Board of Public Utilities third public hearing at Hopatcong Middle School Tuesday night. More than 60 people, including local officials and residents from Morris, Sussex and Passaic counties, attended the meeting where over a dozen people commented and raised concerns to BPU and JCP&L officials about the state's preparedness and response after the storm that left millions across the state without power for days and some for …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
BPU holds hearing from 4 to 7 p.m. at Hopatcong Middle School.
Nearly two months after Superstorm Sandy, residents will have the chance to tell state officials first-hand their concerns and suggestions for the storm response and what it was like to survive without power for days. The Board of Public Utilities will hold a public hearing on Tuesday at Hopatcong Middle School from 4 to 7 p.m. to hear input from residents all over the region about what the experience in the aftermath of Sandy was like. "We hope that residents are able to give us as much information as they have," said Greg Reinert, a spokesman for BPU. "What their experiences were, what did they experience as far as the outage, whether it was a line down or what information did they get regarding the outage, what information they weren't …
Monday, December 10, 2012
BPU will hold a public hearing in Hopatcong Dec. 18.
Hopatcong residents will have the chance to tell state officials what it was like to be without power for two weeks following Hurricane Sandy when the Board of Public Utilities holds a public hearing on Dec. 18. The hearing will held at the gymnasium at Hopatcong Middle School from 4 to 7 p.m. Mayor Sylvia Petillo said at last week's council meeting that the meeting is for residents who live in the JCP&L service area. The entire borough was without power in the week after Sandy, and didn't get fully restored until two weeks later. A BPU announcement about the hearing said the purpose is to “solicit public comments regarding the state of preparedness and responsiveness of the electric distribution companies prior to, during and after …
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Company's president to meet with Board of Public Utilities in Basking Ridge.
The president of Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) and members of the Board of Public Utilities will appear in Basking Ridge at a public meeting Monday to discuss the utility's response to Superstorm Sandy. The state Board of Public Utilities issued a notice that the meeting will be held to solicit public comment on JCP&L's preparedness and responsiveness before, during and after Hurricane Sandy. The meeting will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. at the auditorium in the William Annin Middle School, 70 Quincy Road, Basking Ridge. A second hearing will be held on Dec. 18 at the Hopatcong Middle School, 1 David Road, from 4 to 7 p.m. The notice said additional hearings would be scheduled in December and in 2013.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
State Sen. Kevin O'Toole calls utility's request 'insulting' at Trenton hearing Wednesday.
State Sen. Kevin O’Toole (R-40th District) told Jersey Central Power & Light officials Wednesday morning their request for a $31.5-million rate hike following Hurricane Sandy was “insulting.” O’Toole, speaking at a state Board of Public Utilities hearing in Trenton to discuss the rate hike, told Patch during a short recess he was given the opportunity to directly address JCP&L President Donald Lynch about the utilities response to the storm and “what went right and what went wrong.” “I told him it (the proposed rate increase) was insulting,” said O'Toole. “We critiqued as to why it was necessary and I said that perhaps it would be wise to keep money for the repairs from New Jersey in New Jersey” and not place the money in the company’s …
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Outages occurred as crews pulled fuse to safely cut trees, police say.
The 1,203 customers in Hopatcong that JCP&L reported were without power Wednesday morning were restored by the afternoon, Mayor Sylvia Petillo said. Hopatcong Police said on their Facebook page at about 10:15 a.m. that the outages occurred because a fuse was pulled at Squire and Durban Avenue so the crews could cut trees safely. They said these outages may happen to other residents in the next couple of weeks. "Residents can anticipate this happening in the next few weeks for the same reason in all areas," Lt. Thomas Kmetz wrote. "This will only happen during daylight hours and should only be for a limited time to get the trees cut." They said no one from JCP&L warned officials that these outages were going to occur. Residents reported …
Monday, November 12, 2012
About 95 percent of power was restored to the borough Sunday night, shelter will close by Monday night.
The majority of power in Hopatcong was restored Sunday night nearly two weeks after Superstorm Sandy left the borough completely in the dark, according to the OEM. Officer Robert Haffner, coordinator of the OEM, said that by about 11 p.m. Sunday night, 95 percent of the borough had power back. Haffner said the high school shelter has started to break down and will be closed by Monday night. He said that JCP&L crews are working to restore the remaining homes, and they have to go to each home individually. Residents are encouraged to call JCP&L at 888-544-4877 to report an existing outage. Mayor Sylvia Petillo said the remaining homes should have power back by Monday. Petillo said it took a while for the power to come back because in the …
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Help keep our interactive map up-to-date by telling us when you get your power back.
It's been almost two weeks since Hurricane Sandy left the borough completely without power. While the power outages have slowly gone down, we know there's still many residents left in the dark. Nine days after the storm on Wednesday, only 20 percent of residents had their power back. Power was reportedly restored to most residents by Friday night, according to JCP&L's outage map. However, the outages fluctuated throughout the day on Saturday, rising to nearly 3,000 and then falling to 1,197 at about 9:30 p.m. We have made an interactive map from the streets residents have reported getting their power restored. This is based off comments on this article and from those end Hopatcong-Sparta Facebook page and Hopatcong Police Facebook page, so…
Thursday, November 8, 2012
The latest update from borough officials.
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Thursday, November 8, 2012
In Hopatcong's latest update, officials announced Thursday that 23 JCP&L trucks were out in the borough, although no specific locations were identified. Officials said in the release that although some areas have been restored, over all the "restoration by JCP&L has been very slow and we believe to be overestimated." Some residents commented on the Hopatcong-Sparta Facebook page and said they saw crews working on Maxim Drive, Brooklyn Mountain Road, and by St. Jude's on Thursday. No new numbers of power restoration were announced since Wednesday when officials said 80 percent of residents were still without power. Some residents have already reported having power back on Chincopee Avenue, Lilchester Road, River Styx Road, Amherst Way, and …
Monday, November 5, 2012
JCP&L's projected Hopatcong power restoration numbers on Sunday were not met, officer says.
The 1,900 homes that JCP&L said were going to get power back Sunday night remained in the dark Monday, the Hopatcong OEM coordinator said. Officer Robert Haffner, coordinator of the OEM, said it was unclear why the utility company was not able to get the power back to the residents. He said the latest prediction for power restoration in the whole town is within two weeks. Some areas around the borough have gotten their power back, while the majority of town remains in the dark. Police said the center of town by the Municipal Building first got power back on Saturday night. Residents have reported having power back on Chincopee Avenue, Lilchester Road, River Styx Road, Amherst Way, and Elba Point. Haffner said the crews are working in the …
Roseanne Marie S.
10:42 am on Friday, December 21, 2012
Deborah you are right in saying there are bigger things going on in the world and I do think people have put it behind them. However I do think people are afraid of a repeat of the misinformation that ran rampant after the storm. If we don't learn from our mistakes we are doomed to repeat them. There was an instance of an elderly couple in another town choosing to stay in their home cause they … more ›