Utilities Defend Sandy Performance
Power companies have not done enough to coordinate outreach with local officials, state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg says.
by Joe Tyrrell, NJSpotlight.com Utility companies acknowledged communications problems during and after Hurricane Sandy, but defended their overall performance before a state Senate committee studying responses to the superstorm. That did not sit well with Stefanie Brand, director of the Division of Rate Counsel, who also took issue with the idea that the utilities wanted to spend some $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion to deploy smart meters. Brand argued that the BPU and Legislature must scrutinize utility spending and revenues before funneling more customer or taxpayer funds to them. But not all cost estimates brought a similar response. The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, whose Newark treatment facility inadvertently dumped 775 million …
