By SUE MORGAN
An official of Jersey Central Power & Light came to Fair Haven’s borough council meeting last night to explain why the power keeps going off when — you guessed it — the power went off. Twice.
Then, about halfway through a grilling of JCP&L area manager Jim Markey by Fair Haven officials came word that a thunderstorm had also knocked out power at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, leaving about 600 people attending an awards ceremony in the auditorium in darkness.
Markey had come to explain why at least six power failures have struck different parts of Fair Haven since June 7. It just so happened that a thunderstorm was raging during the meeting’s first half hour, leading to two brief blackouts.
The second blackout — about a minute long — prompted Mayor Mike Halfacre to call for a brief recess until the power was restored.
The light-flickering power surges almost seemed like a teaser for Markey’s presentation, which Halfacre had announced on his blog and which had been advertised on a marquee outside the borough hall. About 15 residents turned out.
As a first step toward restoring confidence in JCP&L, company engineers will conduct a thorough reliability review and analysis of he events of the past 10 days, Markey told the town leaders.
The results of that analysis will then be shared with other JCP&L officials so they can work out an action plan, Markey added.
As to a timeline when corrective action would occur, Markey indicated that such a schedule would be worked out at a later date.
In addition, Markey promised borough administrator Mary Howell that her request for information regarding the long history of weather-related power outages in the borough as well as the company’s “thermovision reports” would come this week.
The thermovision reports are the utility’s written studies showing where in the borough “hotspots” such as trees, power lines or other triggers for fires are physically located, explained Howell, noting that she has requested company reports many times over several years without ever receiving them. (Here’s a JCP&L press release with a little more info about thermovision technology: Download 20070705_jcpl_conducting_thermovision_inspections.pdf)
Some of the more recent power failures, a daily happening in some parts of the borough during the heat wave that scorched the area between June 7 and June 10, caused those hotspots to flare up and trees to catch fire, Howell told Markey.
The blackouts resulted because higher demands for electric to cool homes on the hotter days led to failed transmissions between the borough’s main power source and its Ridge Road substation, and because of problems distributing that energy to homes and businesses, Markey told officials.
However, Halfacre, who along with other town officials related stories of losing power during hot weather and thunderstorms, asserted that the outages happened due to a systemwide failure. He called upon Markey to keep the council informed about the findings of utility engineers’ analysis and to provide a timeline for changes.
“Our main concern is with follow-through,” Halfacre told Markey. “We are going to hold your feet to the fire.”
Halfacre also expressed disappointment that JCP&L officials had bailed out of a meeting originally scheduled for today in Fair Haven at which the borough’s three state legislators were to meet with town leaders and utility representatives to assess the situation.
That meeting, which was to include State Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, has not been rescheduled, Halfacre said.
JCP&L officials had indicated that they were working on a solution and did not believe the meeting with the trio of state leaders was necessary, he said.
For now, Fair Haven will continue to record all power failures lasting more than an hour that occur in any part of this borough of more than 6,000 residents, Halfacre promised.
Any homes or businesses wanting to file claims due to lost food or damaged appliances due to the blackouts, can contact JCP&L’s loss line at 1-800-662-3115.
Can everyone just calm down about the power situation for a few minutes? So we didn't have electricity for a few hours last week, is it really that big of a problem?
No A/C, no computer, no TV? Open up the windows, light a candle, and enjoy the peace and quiet with your family for a change.
ummmm, actually it was 8 hours on the hottest day of the year, 6 hours on the second hottest day of the year and 7 hours on the third hottest day of the year.
And everyone survived.
Let's not make it out to be more then it is. A minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. Somehow mankind survived and even thrived for thousands of years before JCP&L existed, so I think Fair Haven can survive a few hours of darkness.
Ben
The history books have locked in 84 years for you in day when people much less longer. Hours in the heat for an old timer can be a death sentence. (AC free London 2003) People need to know that eight ours this time won't be 16 hours next time. This little A/C conveniences that you are so quick to dismiss is one small part of the formula that helps explain why people lived to about the average of 40 years old in your day, but now live to nearly 80 years today.
Clearly the elderly and those dependant on oxygen or life support equipment are put at a greater risk during power outages. I don't mean to dismiss individuals in that situation.
However, I believe the Fair Haven police sent out messages stating a relief center was set up at the station where there was electricity and AC. There appears to be a procedure in place for those with special needs. Maybe that could be tweaked or improved upon somewhat for the future.
But I would argue that a few hours without power will not signficantly impact the life expectancy of the vast majority of Fair Haven residents. To state otherwise is quite simply being overly dramatic.
Dear Ben,
You are correct. These pampered Fair Havenites are a real pain in the ass. If it wasn't for great inventors such as your self they would still be huddled around a little candle while they were sweating their spoiled assses off and if they keep it up we are going to raise the rates in Fair Haven.
Hey JCP & L Spokesperson,
I invented the light bulb not Ben, so I am the reason those little spoiled brats don't need to huddle around a candle while sweating their asses off. Thank you.
Dear Tom,
I am sorry for not giving you proper recognition. Thank you for inventing the light bulb so those pain in the asses in Fair Haven have lights instead of candles. It allows them to let everyone know how wonderful they while drinking their scotch after work. Oh and tell God thanks for the little joke about running a thunderstorm through Fair Haven and knocking out the power while we were trying to explain why sometimes the power goes out and now we know why.
The point is, we all don't have a choice in electricity providers. We HAVE to use JCP&L. If we don't hold them accountable it could be painful for all of us. FH Residents are doing us a favor by speaking up and demanding high standards.
That does it. You all whine about power outages? Tomorrow we will begin to work on our new rates to keep up with you spoiled suburbanites demands. See how you like a 20% increase next year!!!
Not all "Fair Havenites" are spoiled brats. My husband & I immigrated here in 1986 with nothing but a few hundred $$ in our pockets, youth and the excitement of a new country. We worked our butts off, each working 2 to sometimes 3 jobs. After 20 years of saving our hard earned $$ we were able to afford an "estate sale" property in Fair Haven. We are not spoiled brats by any means so it would be no problem to have no power for a time but one must admit that 5 days without power in an 8 day period in extreme heat is more than most people spoiled or not can endure. We are just asking for the power system to be reviewed and upgraded perhaps, not too much to ask.
I am sure btw that JCP & L spokesperson goes home to a lighted house with a/c and enjoys all the comforts of electricity, so should Fair Havenites!!
Well I lost $1000 insurance deductable as my basement flooded with no sump pump able to run. I'm sure there's lots of other residents who suffered similar problems that are far more then just the inconvenience of not having lights and tv. Not everyone in Fair Haven lives in $1,000,000 homes and can shrug it off.
Let me tell you about the spoiled FH'ites. They spend countless hours volunteering, young and old alike….the Fire Department members put in thousands of hours every year for the town and probably put on the best Fair in the state..The PTA is one of the most active, not just in terms of $$ raised, but in the number hours and goodwill given back to kids…The Be A Good Neighbor committee has dozens of kids who go to elderly's homes to shovel snow..The 8th graders raised thousands of dollars for cancer causes and people living in poverty…Our own Stacy Harris is in Kenya doing incredible work with children there….I would venture that while many people are home watching AMerican Idol in other towns, you'll find our townspeople taking care of FH Fields, the war memorials, the 9-11 Memorial garden, collecting sports equipment for kids in Red Bank, sending our troops comfort items, responding to over hundreds and hundreds of emergency calls. Come visit us. If this is spoiled suburbanite living I'll take it any day. And yes, we like our lights to work like anyone else reading this blog.
Well said "fh_born_n_bred" and that's the reason I moved to Fair Haven. My kids have been involved in many of the activites you mentioned. I am volunteering tonight to chaperone the 8th grad. dance. There are the million $$$ homes but there are many very hard working people in middle class homes. I love the community spirit and family atmosphere of the town. I am delighted to be able to raise my kids in Fair Haven!
8 hours with no power is a walk in the park. Try losing power for weeks due to a hurricane. Electricity is a convenience not a necessity for life. Become self-reliant,get a generator and stop whining!
Small Town = Small problems
Big Towns = Bigger problems (huricanes)
We're just trying to fix something that's broken, we're not whining, just being ridiculed by out of towners!
Oh Jen. You and the other irate FH'ers are as much of the problem as anyone, despite your protests of great deeds for humanity. Let me explain:
All of us in Monmouth County are the spoiled seed of extreme affluence. We applaud expansive projects like Red Bank and delight in the restaurants, clubs and buildings whose construction seems to know no end. We deny ourselves and our children no convenience or comfort, even if most of the toys are users of electricity. Huge freezers, air conditioners, computers, video games, pool pumps and cleaners, lights burning continually throughout the house, mammoth televisions with every kind of recording device; even electric cars for the environmentally conscious.
But simultaneously, do any of us really fight against the building of more malls, McMansions, town centers? And how about NIMBY? Look at the applause Congressman Pallone received for keeping those wicked wind generators off our coast. (We want our view, after all.) How many new power plants are you willing to accept in this area? How about nuclear or coal plants? Do you see any garbage recycling power stations being built in northeastern Monmouth?
But we all know it's those greedy corporations like JCP&L who refuse to provide good service. Bravo all of us!
The recent failures are not from a lack of power, Padrone, but from a failure of infrastructre in delivering that power.
JCP&L's parent company, FirstEnergy, had record profits of 1.3 billion last year, on revenues of 13 billion. The FirstEnergy CEO had a total compensation package in excess of 12 million last year, which was down a little from the prior year.
JCP&L's CEO exercised stock options in May worth millions of dollars.
Yet they can not fund a reliable electrical distribution system?
Of course should the company announce they plan to upgrade the power lines there will be the usual loud-mouths who will protest any new poles or wires. Too bad the power failures doesn't disrupt the know-nothings.
Infrastructure is the real issue.
I think everyone agrees that a power outage occasionally is acceptable, but several outages over the course of a few days is not normal.
In addition, the countless power line failures and fires are an indication that JCP&L has not kept up with its maintenance. I saw countless JCP&L trucks on the streets of Fair Haven last week. Why don't we see those trucks in the early Spring and Fall when the weather lends itself to scheduled maintenance. Part of our monthly bills are slated for maintenance and improvements.
We must work with the power company to come up with a sensible infrastructure plan for our town.
As Mayor Mike pointed out we made a lot of money last year. In fact, so much so, that we now have enough money to build a new nuclear power plant along the river which will solve all of the power problems in Fair Haven. It will also make the river water feel like nice warm bath water and produce very large fish. Once completed, you won't have to sweat your asses off while reading by candle light. It should be ready by the year 2011.
I drink my own pee and like to sniff my farts
Interesting response Monsieur Le Mayor. Playing the class envy card against the evil big corporation is so politician of you. It does make me wonder, however: do you find a 10% profit obscene when you invest your money or only in your political posturing?