FREEHOLDERS MEET WITH JCP&L OFFICIALS – POWER OUTLOOK FOR THE SUMMER IS GOOD
SAYING THEY DON’T want a repeat of the power problems that plagued portions of the county several summers ago,
members of the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders received assurances this week that the local electrical
infrastructure is ready for the tourist season.
The Freeholders met with representatives from First Energy Corp., the parent company of Jersey Central Power &
Light Co., this week for an update on improvements to the county’s power grid.
“It is very important, not only to our visitors, but to our residents, that we don’t suffer from power outages
during the summer,” said Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari.
In 2003, the northern barrier island communities suffered repeated blackouts during the July 4th weekend.
“”Many of our tourist-related businesses were especially hard hit,” Vicari said.
The Freeholders have had regular meetings with the utility company since those outages.
According to JCP&L officials, new procedures have been put into place for the Shore communities.
An extra trunk line carrying power to the northern barrier island has been installed.
Additionally, special repair crews have been mobilized for Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day. These crews can
respond quickly to any problem in the county.
Vicari said he was also pleased to learn that the utility has completed other upgrades in the county.
Among the improvements are three new substations in Toms River and Manchester townships and the Borough of
Seaside Park, new circuits in Lavallette and Lakewood and new underground cable at Crestwood Village in Manchester.
Vicari said he is hopeful that the continued upgrades and maintenance will allow the utility to operate without
interruptions during the peak months of June, July and August.
“We’ve had a very good partnership with JCP&L and the utility has been very forthcoming about the improvements
they’ve made in the county,” Vicari said.
But Vicari also warned that weather-related outages are still possible if severe thunderstorms and wind strike
the county this summer.
“We can’t control the weather, but hopefully the utility will have the crews in place to restore service as
quickly as possible,” he said.
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