From:  Sandra H. Haimoff, Mayor, Millburn Township
Re:    N.J. Mayors Closed Hearing with Board of Public Utilities and JCP&L, September 23, 2011

On Friday, September 23, 2011, I attended (along with other NJ Mayors) a closed hearing on JCP&L.  The Board of Public Utilities President, Lee Solomon, and JCP&L President, Don Lynch, spoke about the pre-storm planning, safety/damage assessment and then system repairs.  A Lieutenant from the State Police reviewed the chain of command.  It was stated that the goals and objectives of this meeting was to develop a plan of communication going forward that will better meet the needs of local communities.

The next hour and a half was spent with the Mayors telling the “horror” stories that happened in their town.  It became apparent that you could have inserted just about any town in our area in each of the horror stories.

We had been told by Mr. Lynch that 70% of the municipalities had their power back in 48 hours, when I spoke and I informed them that Millburn Township must have been in that 30% as it took us 216 hours -- 9 days -- to have all of our Town’s power back on.  Suffice it to say, JCP&L failed Millburn Township 100%.  I stated that I would not tell them our Town’s horror stories as I was sure that our residents would do that at the public hearings.  Rather, I presented suggestions for better communication between JCP&L and its municipalities:

1. A liaison should be assigned to the Essex County Emergency Operations;

2. Once a line is de-energized, this information should be communicated to public safety officials in the town so that debris can be removed, streets re-opened, and trees cut;

3. Someone should be able to tell us which streets and/or houses are without power;

4. There should be a regional municipal liaison so that several municipalities could coordinate with this individual to identify the areas where lines were de-energized and where power was restored;

5. Automated phone calls sent to customers when power is restored asks for a call-back.  A person without power may not even receive this call;

6. Local officials should receive adequate information so that they can respond intelligently to the numerous residents who reach out to them;

7. There should be pre-storm planning;

8. There should be communication and planning to prepare for the aftermath;

9. We need a system by which each town can get immediate detailed and consistent information.

I urge all residents to attend the Public Hearings on Tuesday, September 27, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy, 500 West Hanover Avenue, Morris Plains, NJ  07963 – www.morrisacademy.org.

It is through many voices raised as one that we can make a difference. After these hearings are completed, we will follow-up with Mr. Solomon to make sure that the municipalities’ grievances are dealt with.