More than 44,000 JCP&L customers remain without power after storms; most outages expected restored by Wednesday
NEW JERSEY — More than 44,000 Jersey Central Power & Light customers remained without electricity Monday morning as crews continued restoring service following severe thunderstorms and extreme heat that caused widespread damage across the utility’s service area.
According to JCP&L, more than 44,000 customers were without power Monday morning, down from approximately 67,000 outages reported Sunday afternoon. Since the storms, the utility said power has been restored to about 220,000 of the nearly 300,000 customers affected over the past several days.
In northwest New Jersey, outages remained significant Monday morning, with more than 16,000 customers without power in Morris County, more than 5,500 in Sussex County, more than 4,000 in Hunterdon County and more than 1,900 in Warren County.
JCP&L said the vast majority of customers are expected to have power restored by Tuesday night, with most remaining outages restored by Wednesday night.
The utility said the storms caused extensive damage throughout its service territory, including hundreds of broken utility poles and downed power lines.
“We understand how challenging power outages can be for customers, especially during extreme heat, and we appreciate your patience as crews work to restore service safely,” JCP&L said in a statement.
The company noted that customers may not see utility trucks in their neighborhoods because crews are often repairing damaged high-voltage lines and other critical infrastructure that must be restored before electricity can be returned to individual homes and businesses. In many cases, the damage affecting a neighborhood may be located some distance from the outage itself.
Thousands of workers, including crews from FirstEnergy sister companies and contractor partners, continue working around the clock to restore service as quickly and safely as possible, according to the utility.
Customers without power can pick up free bottled water and ice at several participating local stores. A list of distribution locations is available on JCP&L’s website.
The utility also encourages customers who are still without service to report outages by calling 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877), texting OUT to 544487 (LIGHTS) or reporting the outage online at firstenergycorp.com/outages. Customers can check estimated restoration times on JCP&L’s outage map or text STAT to 544487 for an update on the status of service at their home.
JCP&L also reminded residents to stay safe by remaining at least 30 feet away from downed power lines and reporting them immediately to 911, avoiding contact with debris near electrical equipment, operating generators outdoors only and disconnecting home power to prevent backfeeding onto utility lines, using flashlights or battery-powered lanterns instead of candles, never using gas stoves, grills or outdoor heaters for heat because of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, and visiting local cooling centers to stay cool and charge electronic devices while outages continue.
