Walsh Says Changes Needed for JCP&L, Other Utilities

In the wake of several storms that have hit the area over the past year and the ensuing problems with power provider Jersey Central Power & Light, some towns in the northern part of the state have begun exploring other options. 

Howell mayor Robert Walsh said that while he did not believe the township was considering looking for other providers, that did not mean there was not more the utility could do to help its customers. "In many areas of government services, it's time to take a fresh look," he said. "Financially, a lot of good hard working people are not satisfied with what they are getting back in return for the things they are paying for."

Robbinsville and Warren Township made the news last week for filing requests with the state Board of Public Utilities for permission to switch to Public Service Electric & Gas, and according to the Star Ledger, 14 other towns are considering the same move, spurred on by what they say was a poor response following recent storms.

Some Jersey Shore towns are , too, saying the company cares more about its bottom line than serving customers, and that communication between the company and municipalities is lacking during outage situations. 

Walsh said he was interested in options that would lead to the customers getting "better services to the people in a more efficient way in less of a cost."

In a recent Patch interview, company spokesman Ron Morano said JCP&L has recently implemented several suggestions it received from mayors and customers across the state after the hurricane. When the Halloween storm hit, he said, the company held conference calls with officials.

“We communicated with the mayors throughout the entire storm,” he said. “In addition to the calls, we set up a special webpage, communicated estimations of customers by county, municipality and location within municipality – all suggestions that came about from meetings following the hurricane.”

And while weather events like Hurricane Irene and the blizzard of last year have caused problems for the town, Walsh said those events alone should not be enough to make any drastic changes. "I do not think there should be any kneejerk reactions to any specific events or agency, but rather some good honest research, investigation, dialogue and if need be corrective action," he said. "If it benefits the citizens I am 100 percent for it."