I couldn't have said it better myself. I understand that damage across the area was severe, but the lack of any useful information from JCPL or our own local government is disgraceful. As each day passes, it looks more and more like our area has simply slipped through the cracks, and that for the longest time, this fact has escaped local leaders.

From the start, we have needed two things:

1. Information. Relevant, actionable information. Do I need a 4-day solution for my family, or a 3-week one? We need to know, our employers need to know, care-givers need to know.

2. Accountability. Look at a JCPL outage map. Bernards township stands out like a sore thumb. Why? Damage was severe everywhere. It is looking more and more like we simply slipped through the cracks, and local officials did nothing to make sure we didn't.

I am in 100% agreement. I've emailed the committee as well and did not receive a reply. Bernards Township has the single largest number of outtages in JCPL's northern and western service area, which is most of the state north of the Turnpike. This statistic which, unlike a lot of other statistics they throw around, is actually real and true, is justification to challenge the allocation of resources to power restoration.

For others, the committee email address is townshipcommittee@bernards.org. The mayor's email is mpavlini@bernards.org.

No new information on power restoration on either the 9 am or the 12 noon township update

The 12 pm update no longer shows the listing of streets that are supposedly being worked on. No explanation from the Township whatsoever as to why the list was removed.

J, are you out of your f mind? This town cannot even sort out high school busing route and now you challenge them with tougher questions?

Be patient. Let's hire a outside team of professionals to assess if your questions have any merit before we meet again!

A group of us who are connected through Facebook on the Basking Ridge Moms page have been calling the governor's office at 609-292-6000. The staff there is taking our information and has encouraged everyone without power to call. The more calls they receive, they told me, the better our chances of help. Maybe if we bypass our local government and go right to Trenton, we'll get some attention. I urge you all to call. It may take a few tries to get through.

It's a terrible situation and everyone needs to hold the government accountable since we are not the one's dealing directly with the power companies. They are to be our unified voice to JCP&L. But 10 days and no action? Help on the way? I've heard the term. The email blasts have become "junk mail" with irrelivant and stale data. Just saying "we're doing everything we can" doesn't explain what and when. Communication and accurate timely information is needed with dates and who's accountable. I know the Twp is trying, but it wouldn't take much additional effort to use the communcation tools like this site and Facebook, and emails to provide accurate and timely updates. Start with WHAT streets are JCPL clearing right now! Then tell us what is our BT DPW doing RIGHT NOW. Today, Tommorrow, Thursday. We have to prioritize our efforts as well, so you have to tell us what you are...or aren't going to do.....PLEASE!

I agree 100%. our house on S Maple continues to be without power. and S Maple is not on the list, so I am anticipating we will not be in the so-called majority who should have power by MIDNIGHT SUNDAY. The huge downed tree is finally out of the way today but no sign of JCP&L.

We are fortunate that we have a place to stay - in our Condo in the Cedars we are trying to sell. unfortunately that also means we're paying DOUBLE to the township to do virtually nothing. while I realize that others, including some of my immediate family members, are well worse off, it doesn't change the fact that its a huge inconvenience and having a direct effect on my 19 month old's day to day life.

On the Warren patch, someone has put together an interactive map of the town that shows where power has been restored and "sightings" of workers. I see that on google maps you can do that. I tried to start one based up on my limited knowledge of restored areas. I set it up so in theory anyone can add to it. Here's the link.....hopefully it works. http://goo.gl/maps/RQQSz

I had contacted JCP&L regarding the "King George Road situation", early in the morning Monday, just about screaming at them that they will be held accoutable when, NOT IF, they find some dead folks, particularly at the Seniors' place. Well, as we know, that situation has been remedied and I couldn't be happier... a.k.a. warmer... but just as upset that other "King Goerge-type" situations still exist.

I have copied and pasted the response letter I received from JCP&L following the restoration of power to the area affected by KGR.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the recent power outage. Our
crews are continually working around the clock to restore power as quickly
and safely as possible. Approximately 320,000 of 1.1 million affected
customers remain without power. The majority of customers will be restored
by next Wednesday, November 7. Due to the magnitude of this outage, we are
currently unable to provide specific restoration times by street address.
Customers in the hardest-hit areas can expect to be restored throughout the
following week. A significant number of customers will not be able to
receive service until damaged roads, infrastructure and homes are rebuilt.
More than 6,000 workers including linemen, forestry workers and support
personnel are here and working to repair the system as quickly and
efficiently as possible. Hurricane Sandy caused widespread destruction in
the JCP&L service area. More than 450 utility poles have been damaged and
more than 12,000 trees have been cut and removed from JCP&L equipment since
the hurricane struck New Jersey on Monday.

We do prioritize our restoration efforts when an outage is widespread.
Restoring power to all affected customers at the same time may not be
possible. Generally, our service crews first must restore transmission and
substation facilities, since they supply power for local distribution
systems. Next, we give priority to hospitals, critical care and life
support facilities, communications facilities, and emergency response
agencies. After that, crews work to restore power as quickly as possible to
the rest of our customers.
Occasionally, customers may wonder why crews drive past their homes instead
of stopping to restore their power. Especially early in a storm's
aftermath, our linemen often are responding to hazardous situations or
high-priority damage locations.

In the early phases of storm restoration, our primary focus is to find
areas with electrical hazards - such as downed (and potentially energized)
wires and related electrical equipment - and make them safe. At such times,
linemen focus on isolating these hazards.

Once that is accomplished, crews begin to repair lines that supply power to
crucial public safety facilities or large areas or groups of customers. A
line may be damaged in multiple locations, or at some distance from those
who are out of service. The linemen, tree crews, or other workers you see
may be on their way to make higher-priority repairs, which must be
completed before damages closer to your location can be fixed.

After local power lines are repaired and put back in service, damage to
individual customer service wires may become apparent. If your neighbor's
power is on and yours is not, the problem may be isolated to your
individual service. It may be appropriate to report such problems, even if
it is later in the restoration process.

Please treat all downed wires and damaged electric equipment as live and
dangerous.

We regularly update local news media on our outage restoration efforts.
Listening to the radio is one way to stay informed of our progress after a
storm. Updated information also may be available by calling our Outage
Reporting Line at 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877).

For up-to-date information on our service restoration effort, current
outages and tips for staying safe, go to www.firstenergycorp.com. In
addition, you can view timely, accurate and easy-to-use outage information
through FirstEnergy’s “24/7 Power Center” maps, accessible on Facebook,
Twitter, desktops, smart phones and mobile devices at
www.firstenergycorp.com/outages

We appreciate your patience as we work to restore your electric service.
If we can provide you with further assistance, please feel free to reply to
this email or contact us at 1-800-662-3115.

Sincerely,

Tammy
Customer Service

Looks like power is back in Hamilton Woods ? my landline is ringing instead of going to a message directly, can someone please confirm ? I am at a friends house at the moment.

Can I ask a simple question? Why are we limited to the service of one provider? JCP&L has us over a barrel because they are the only game in town. This is now 3 storms in the last year and a half that has caused chaos in our town. What can we, as citizens of the township, do to bring in some competition to encourage better service. PSE&G had 90% of their customers back up and running already. Our provider isn't even close to that!

Can someone confirm Hamilton Woods status? In Massachusettes and checking for family that live there - don't know anyone to contact there directly. thanks!

the township committee is a joke---they should be embarrassed by whats gone on...i understand that the town of westfield held a conference call with PSEG that all the residents could dial in and listen to....long hill has nightly town meetings for the residents...bernards township? all we do is post 3 hr updates that are useless, meaningless and inaccurate. The mayor should have demanded a plan from JCPL when this first happened--and they should have shared it with us....even tonights update says that "they think there are workers in town working on the lines but they cant be sure"....stop the updates---they serve no purpose....its almost 10 days since the storm and very little has been done....incompetence is putting it mildly

Perfectly stated. After days with no electricity and many attempts to reach a human being at JCP&L I finally did, this was their response to my question to please give me an update...and I quote "We have no update, it could be another 7 to 10 days for those hard hit areas" When I said that was unacceptable I was told "Go to a shelter and be sure to pay my bill"!! Someone must be held accountable for the atrocious response to this storm. I believe that our local Government should be demanding answer and getting results. The ability to do the job when crisis hits and you are under pressure is the measure of a persons and company's strength, character and leadership. Clearly, our township committee is not up to the task!

Jeff, I think there's an easy comparison to make with PSE&G. Both have to publish daily restoration work plans. If we can get access to the record of daily projections, and compare to work actually performed, it will tell an interesting story. I think I can get that. The ability of a utility to manage storms is important, and I'd like to know if PSE&G is as lousy as JCP&L. Let the better service provider win, and collectively we do have a choice. However we would need to lobby the NJ Board of Public Utilities to allow us to switch. Many residents have opted to pay $7-10k for a whole-house generator (20% of their electricity bill over a service life of 20 years?), for the luxury of not having to deal with regular outages.

I'm working from home tomorrow. NJ Transit and Lakeland Bus have no ETA on restoration of service to NY, and I'm tired of driving in to Secaucus and praying I can squeeze onto a NEC train. If you need a place to warm up we have power now, as long as extra weight of the snow doesn't bring down the tree that's hanging on the power line feeding our block.

Amen Jeff. Same nonsense in millburn. Only we aren't even getting detail on streets. Hope it gets better soon.

I can't tell you how disappointing it is to read how the township has let our residents down in the this matter. My heart goes out to all residents stuck in this impossible situation. My comment relates to the township handling of these circumstances.
Our street is not a through street and the tree loss here had limited impact road safety. Neighbors cut and removed most down trees and put them safely to the side.
Nonetheless, last Saturday morning, eight BT DPW workers came to our street with three trucks and a chipping machine. While six watched, two worked, spending the morning removing Bradford pear branches that were NOT blocking the road.
As Jeff suggested, some of these township employees could have been assessing the status of dangerous or trapped streets. This is situation is unacceptable. Our tax dollars fund the salaries of these individuals and the TC should have to answer for the bad management.
I hope and pray that you all get power as soon as possible.

Thanks to the JCP&L crew and to the Township who worked on finally getting the power back to Hamilton Woods and surrounding developments. Communication though is a big area for improvement in future calamities and emergency situations.

I agree with everything Jeff has said and I too have been writing to the Township Committee without a response. There is a Committee meeting next Tiesday at 8 PM. I recommend everyone that can attend the meeting and voice your frustration not with the lack of communication and apprarant accountability of JCP&L.
I have never attended a meeting but will this time as this is the third such storm in the last year and a half and apparantly the Township Committee has learned nothing.

After ten days I think those of us without power are justifiably frustrated. How can JCP&L not know whether or where crews are working in our town? How can the town officials not have an ideas if any crews are working? We live in the center of town where there are four telephone poles that need replacing. For the past three days there has been a lone worker sitting in a truck next to the transformer that is laying on S. Finley. His lights are flashing and that's the extent of what's happening. Great use of manpower. Verizon trucks/workers replaced damaged poles on N. Finley last week. Verizon headquarters are in our town. Can't the town leaders appeal to them to get to work on our downed poles? At this point it's hard to imagine we will have power anytime soon.

Thankfully 2 utility trucks just showed up on Deer Ridge Rd. new poles being delivered today. There is light at the end of the long tunnel. Does anyone know if Somerville road is open yet?

Well said, Jeff. Where's our government officials? Haven't heard anything from our mayor either. With the taxes we pay, we should have a better infrastructure for disasters. Feel like we live in a third-world country.

Day 11 power! This an absolute disaster. The township committee, JCP&L should be ashamed of themselves and should be fired. Someone should contact the First Energy CEO Anthony J. Alexander and give him a piece of mind!

Give us info and we will plan accordningly. Untill then I will continue to hound JCP&L and the township. Ths is crazy.

does deer ridge or kings ridge have power yet? where is betty?

No power on Deer ridge or surrounding streets. Men are here working today.

I would like to attend the committee meeting next Tues. Where is it held? last I checked the municipal buidling didn't have power. While my neighborhood thankfully had power restored last night, I also wrote to the mayor and deputy mayor but no response. Not that I expected them to, but it helped to communicate my frustration with this awful situation.

I just noticed that next Tuesday's township committee meeting is canceled. Shocking.

Hi Everyone. I live in Hamilton Woods and just got my power back last night - after NINE days. I know that almost half the town is still without. What a disgrace. I have nothing more to add to what's been said above, but I have an idea. Why don't we all plan to attend a TC meeting on the same night? One by one, we will get up and state our concerns and demands during the open session - I think it usually starts at about 8.

LE
I live on Liberty Corner Road. We have not seen any utility vehicles working on our section of the street that remains closed. The road block at the intersection of Douglas Road and Liberty Corner Road has been moved several different times and drivers not realizing the road is still closed drive on through over top of the downed polls and lines.

One word - PIKE !!! They are incredible. When they arrived 12 days later, it was apparent they knew what they were doing. They were knowledgeable, efficient and "managed" the situation with incredible expertise. Forget JCP&L and PSEG; I say lets get PIKE. They are ever expanding and just take a look at their stock.

power anyone?

I'm thankful my family is safe and that my home has no damage. I have no electricity and last year was one of last to get power back. I live in Homestead Village. I was not prepared for this storm and was in panic mode by day 3 when food and gas was on my mind. Things are looking better now and I still have no power. I'm just thankful that my family is safe. This storm will wake me up to expect nothing from anybody. I'm 100% responsible for the safety of my family, nobody else. I can honestly say I don't care when electricity comes back. I do care about the elderly and young, these people deserve better from every stage of government but again we as people need to take care of them and not our government it appears.

I agree about PIKE!! Hooray for those guys!! But regarding the township committee, we are witnessing trickle down of conservative Republican platform. I imagine that next year the incumbents will stress again reduced expenses.

Who is taking care of Lord Stirling Village? We have a property management co. that knows nothing, and does not allow generators: a utility co. that is leaving LSV until last as alway; and a township committee that is unreachable. All are uncommunicable. We have elderly people and children living there.

Who is taking care of Lord Stirling Village? We have a property management co. that knows nothing, and does not allow generators: a utility co. that is leaving LSV until last as alway; and a township committee that is unreachable. All are uncommunicable. We have elderly people and children living there.