Thousands of residents remain without power a week after a snow nor'easter turned out the lights on more than 600,000 residents
Gov. Chris Christie, seen in this file photo, today called on JCP&L to end the automated phone calls telling residents that their power had been restored when it had not.After residents voiced outrage Friday at erroneous reports of having their power restored, Gov. Chris Christie today called on JCP&L to end the automated phone calls that have added insult to injury for many who were told they had power back even as they sat in darkness.
"Of serious concern are reports that customers are being told their power is restored, but are not receiving power in their homes," Christie said today in a statement, after a conference call with Board of Public Utilities President Lee Solomon and executives from the state's utility companies.
"As the last remaining New Jerseyans without power are brought back online, JCP&L has committed to me to end the practice of automated restoration alert calls and to make these calls with live operators to ensure these types of problems are identified and met as quickly as possible,” Christie said.
Thousands of residents remain without power a week after a snow nor'easter turned out the lights on more than 600,000 residents in northern New Jersey. Street by street, utility companies have scrambled to restore power but the response has been too slow for many who have been without running water, heat and light for more than a week.
Christie, PSE&G and JCP&L agreed on a Thursday night deadline for 95 percent restoration. By Friday JCP&L claimed to have reached that goal but dozens of residents said they had received calls that their power had been restored when it had not. Christie declined to comment on the discrepancy Friday but today insisted the Ohio-based company verify their information.
He also stepped up pressure on utilities to end the week-long outage by the end of this weekend.
“While the overwhelming number of affected customers have had their power restored, it is imperative that full restoration efforts finish by the end of this weekend without exceptions," said Governor Christie. "Any further delays are unacceptable to me and unacceptable to those New Jerseyans who have demonstrated significant patience in the aftermath of the storm. If there is any failure to meet this timetable, I will consider taking appropriate action in consultation with Board of Public Utility President Lee Solomon.”
As of 4:43 p.m. the governor's office reported that roughly 10,000 customers of JCP&L, PSE&G and Orange and Rockland remain without power. PSE&G and Orange and Rockland are promising 100 percent restoration by tonight. JCP&L is promising 100 percent restoration by Sunday night.
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