JCP&L Makes Significant Progress Overnight Restoring Power to Remaining New Jersey Customers Affected by Winter Storm

MORRISTOWN, N.J., March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) restored power to an additional 30,000 customers overnight and continues to make significant progress following the massive winter storm that pounded the entire Mid-Atlantic and New England region last weekend. 

JCP&L is also closely watching a second major storm expected to move up the East Coast on Wednesday, and will keep all personnel in place this week to quickly respond to any additional outages.

Since last Friday, approximately 180,000 customers have been restored in JCP&L's northern New Jersey service area. Nearly 3,400 people ? including line workers from as far as Louisiana, Texas and Michigan ? are working around the clock and will continue their efforts until full restoration is achieved later this week. The heavy wet snow and 60 mph wind gusts caused tree damage to 295 poles and more than 1,000 spans of wire, and crews have reopened almost 1,400 roads in the area to reach damaged facilities.

At this time, approximately 40,000 customers remain out of service, primarily in Hunterdon, Morris, Warren and Sussex counties. JCP&L expects the majority of remaining customers will be restored to service by late Wednesday. While we hope to restore power to all remaining customers in the hardest-hit areas of northern Morris, Warren and Sussex counties by late Thursday, additional heavy, wet snow may hamper those efforts. The company is currently reporting more than 1,300 individual locations without power - a time-consuming process where each home must be visited by a separate crew to restore service.

As part of its storm restoration process, JCP&L has taken the following steps:

• Ramped up storm updates on social media and on the company website. Follow JCP&L on Twitter @JCP_L, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCPandL or online at www.jcp-l.com
• Aired radio ads telling customers how to prepare for storms
• Initiated update calls with officials
• Activated its Emergency Command Center
• Activated its Incident Command System
• Communicated with emergency management officials, state officials, regulators, and local officials about storm restoration efforts
• Staffed additional dispatchers and analysts at regional dispatch offices

After local power lines are repaired and put back in service, damage to individual customer service wires may become apparent. Customers are reminded that if their neighbor's power is on and theirs is not, the problem may be isolated to their individual service, and service to the neighbor could be fed from a different circuit. Customers are encouraged to report such problems, even if it is later in the restoration process.

JCP&L reminds customers to immediately report downed wires to their utility at 888-LIGHTSS (888-544-4877), or to their local police or fire department.  Customers should never go near a downed wire even if they think it is no longer carrying electricity.  Extra caution should be used in areas where downed lines are tangled in trees or other debris.

JCP&L is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE).  JCP&L serves 1.1 million New Jersey customers in the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren.  Follow JCP&L on Twitter @JCP_L, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCPandL or online at www.jcp-l.com.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence.  Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.  The company's transmission subsidiaries operate more than 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.  Visit FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.