ALLAMUCHY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Warren County) — Downed wires along Route 517 near the Panther Valley Mall in Allamuchy Township caused a power outage Wednesday morning that affected about 9,000 Jersey Central Power & Light customers in Hackettstown, Independence Township and Allamuchy Township, a company spokesman said.
JCP&L spokesman Christopher Hoenig said crews were working to isolate the problem and restore service. About 8,300 customers had their power restored as of late morning, and roughly 100 were expected to remain without service while repairs were completed.
Hoenig said the utility has an upgrade project underway in the area. For the safety of crews performing that work, the company adjusted settings on devices that would normally restore power automatically. As a result, crews are manually closing devices to complete the isolation and restoration process.
There was also arcing between lines at a substation on West Stiger Street in Hackettstown, Hoenig said. That issue was quickly resolved.
The cause of the downed wires was not immediately known.
