Great Meadows Power Outage 6/20/20
Oh no not again! A power outage affecting Great Meadows and Liberty Township NJ.First Energy Company has done its best to push the residents in this area back to the stone age with repeated power outages.When do they catch up on deferred maintenance and supply electricity that is dependable? Another fine power outage caused by a tree falling on a power line.How many times do we have to hear this same lame excuse! I urge citizens affected by this most recent power outage to contact First Energy and complain!
ZippIf a tree fell on the line with the storm that came through earlier how is that a deferred maintenance issue? This is a very rural wooded region we live in. If the likely hood of a power outage is higher based on the area and history of outages, then I would think the prudent course of action as a resident is to be prepared with an alternative power source or supplies to manage while experiencing an outage. With the statement of "Oh no not again! " suggests this is a common occurrence. Like the Boy Scouts say- Be Prepared!
Greg There was a transformer and pole on fire on 46. Maybe that was the power outage, not deterred maintenance?
It happens with almost every storm knocking down the lines 11 miles away or more and won't be corrected until another Hurricane Sandy knocks down more of the antiquated system that was in part last upgraded in 2012 . I talked to the out of state power companies from the south that came to repair the damage and they said they had never seen such an outdated system . Just in the past week it has been out at least 5 times , mostly just on and off , out for 3 hours once , and just tonight on and off once then out for 20 minutes . Five times in one week is not just living in the country , that's living in the friggan' Dark Ages in 2020 !
97XBAM They are doing a massive trimming/removal program around the area, but there is a lot to go.
Mr 4paws Good Ole....Shouda, woulda, coulda...
My brother lives in Liberty Township, and it has been a never ending battle with power outages for the 21 years he has been there.
Wires, and branches and trees....OH MY!..... Follow the dark unlit road.
Best bet to less aggravation, is get a generator installed.
embryodad 97XBAM: I'm pretty sure that most standby/auto-starting generators need to run once per week regardless of how often the power goes out.
Exactly, at some point accept the reality of grid delivery in rural areas and get a generator, or better yet solar with battery backup if possible.
iJay Greg, So we in the Liberty Township / Great Meadows area are supposed to get used to power outages? Really! Sorry I am not buying into that.First Energy had better step up and take better care of the power grid here.Sloppy repairs and slapdash fixes only make more problems.After the March Northeaster of 2018 out of state power crews worked for days restoring power here.They were shocked to see such outdated and antiquated power line equipment. After the repair work for the storm was done.Power line poles still had repair patches attached to them.First Energy left the poles with transformers hanging off of them. New poles had power lines that were still patched up.They can and will do better. All complaints due to this matter should be sent to the NJ Board Of Public Utilities. https://www.bpu.state.nj.us/
I'm not suggesting to get used to it at all. Clearly it 's a chronic issue with repeated outages for a variety of reasons. Some due to older equipment and some simply because of the wooded region and storms. I have worked with many of the First Energy garages all over the state. I have talked with many linemen and women both for NJ as well as the crews that travel here in time of need. It is well known that some of the infrastructure here in the North East has outlived its usefulness. With all of that said sure a complaint to the BPU may eventually get somewhere who knows. My point is if it keeps happening and you want uninterrupted power, take the appropriate steps and be prepared. Otherwise you are at the mercy of others. I know I am prepared always here in town and we rarely lose power.
It’s not a matter of getting used to it. It’s a matter a dealing with it. Take precautions with the known problems that exist. Things may or may not get with the power situation but at least you know you and your family will be safe. Yes by all means file complaints, but that complaint is not going to keep you cool in the summer or warm in the winter because things will take time to change if at all. In the mean time your covered.
CraftBeerBob Are your neighbors experiencing the quick blips as well. I experienced quick blips and my problem was local to my house. After I had the run from house to pole replaced my quick blips went away. I still experienced the extended outages when they happened and that is when I turned to the generator.
I agree to all plus put on top:
- no resiliency or redundancy features so when that Rt 46 line goes down, Liberty is out for sure, GMdws 50/50
- really poor communication
= on any given outage, the restore time is 3.5 hrs out or so by design
= you can be on and they will tell you the restoration time
= times are routinely bumped out, sometimes multiple times, but you usually get the update 15 minutes before the previous restoration time
= as outages grow, they fall back to "universal restoration time" like "most will be up two days from now." Soon it becomes apparent that "most" will not be up two days from now, and some will get the next "x days from now" update. IOW, they have a plan, they know who's next, but they ain't telling you, you just get the "universal restoration time" for most, but actually it's only for some, the rest will get the next "universal restoration time" for most, again..... And then we play, who's the last man who falls out as "not the most" at the end. Really doesn't matter as life and death until the weather gets cold enough that it IS life and death. I have counted over a dozen resets on these major events with over a dozen groups of "most."
= meanwhile, for communication, they continue to adjust their on-line outage website to tell us less and less information. Over the years, they have gone from being completely transparent about current status to totally oblique and self-serving with their website communication ---- by design. You have to be a JCPL translator to really know what the status is, and how to read their data hieroglyphs.
I say continue to complain to the state BPU and your elected officials every time you get pissed at their current example of greed. Because that's what it is mostly about, profit.
strangerdanger No it's not just my house that has the power blips going on and off , it's the whole surrounding area .The streetlights start to fade and the neighbor's generator starts up , runs for less than a minute then shuts down . Probably why he has to run it every week instead of once a month to keep the battery charged . Publicly traded (big surprise there) for profit FirstEnergy has quite the racket - sell a service everyone needs , do the absolute minimum amount of maintenance/upgrades , then wait for a huge storm to get federal disaster aid to pay for the new poles , transformers, and labor . I swear 5 years went by after Hurricane Sandy without a single power outage . Just drive west of Hackettstown and look , really look for crooked/leaning telephone poles . It's like a third world country , once you see it you can't unsee it !
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FirstEnergy
Ckershaw Not again. Power out three times today in Great Meadows. Thank You JCP&L for your fine work.
New name for JCP&L: JCP&D (Jersey Central Power & Darkness)
Way too many outages lately!!
hummingbird56 Power went off for about a minute on Saturday , two minutes yesterday(that one killed a neighbors outdoor security pole light) and 3 times today - about two minutes , then slightly less than 30 minutes and again for almost an hour .I get the longer outages , but why the one minute , two minute blips ? Any input would be appreciated . And yes I have a mobile 7500 watt Generac generator which I only wheel out for the long outages or to bring power where none exists .
There was a faulty circuit breaker at the substation on Pequest Rd in Oxford. When it got wet it opened. The first outage was the initial rainfall- when the rain stopped the breaker dried and closed. Then It began to rain heavily and the breaker opened again (1 hour). The final outage was them replacing the faulty part. JCPL has been replacing primaries and installing automatic breakers (instead of fuses) all around the Great Meadows area- so they are making infrastructure improvements. If you have a trunk tracking scanner you can listen to the dispatch center and trucks.
OP OP -- thanks, the diagnosis sure fits the symptoms. Question: do you think this fits the outage that happened a few days or like a week ago? Because all that happened was a little rain, no lightning, no wind...... And if that's the case......what, wishful thinking for a week or more?
Yes I think so. The symptoms fit with the last power outage since it was raining at that time as well. I would think that maybe they ordered a replacement part? The power wasn't out for very long last time maybe 20 minutes. As far as diagnostic work... they knew the area affected by the outage but by the time the crew responded the power was back on and the problem was not obvious. Maybe they were overloaded with left over hurricane work and put it on the to-do list... maybe I'm giving JCPL a little to much credit lol
They still have fuses in the power network in this day and age ? No wonder the power workers from out of state call the system antiquated !
OP; my point in the other thread was that on the last outage, the data system initially showed 38 20-houses or less outages with an 11pm etr, awaiting dispatch. Us experienced knew the truth and sure enough, like 30 minutes later, it changed to 2 1,500 or more outages, 11 pm etr, awaiting dispatch.
By 7:30 pm, 90% of Indy, Oxford, and Liberty headed out for take out. Just kidding, but theoretically possible.
At 8pm, the system said 2 1,500 outages, 11 pm eye, awaiting dispatch, as the lights came on.
Theses bozos could really improve their communications. You would think someone coulda, shoulda, said, hey, we gots this one, tell them to update the status.....Or even, hey, we are on site now....
JCP&L and it’s predecessor companies are guilty of deferred maintenance and antiquated outdated equipment. The residents have to withstand repeated outages as a result.
IJay every customer of JCP&L deserves good and reliable service. I pay my bill for power every month.At least they can maintain and operate the system properly. They can even spend money to upgrade the grid to modern standards. Some of the old outdated equipment in [The Sticks] has been left to degrade for many years.Sorry no excuses for poor and failing service!
I called today, Independence resident, frustrated over the several short outages that keep occurring with zero warning but enough to require resting all the clocks, worries about if the alarms will go off or we will wake up to reset clocks, and getting kicked off meetings while working from home and the recent back and forth the other day. At least the other day, there was a storm and I could rationalize it, the others no. I asked if they were doing infrastructure updates today after getting kicked off another call and being at my wits end of wondering when it would come back up and if I would be able to get back online for work. The girl that answered and said she did not see anything planned in our area for today. While I was on the phone with her, and after the power came back up, it said a crew was being dispatched on my alert and estimated restore time of 130. Between her not having info on repairs in our area, and the alert I don't feel it was an infastructure update. She also could not explain the power going back on, and why the alert was sent as she did not reflect an alert either. If they are doing infrastructure updates, they should be notifying customers, and they should be providing a date and time estimate for the updates. These have not even been consistent time of the day, not all even in standard working hours. I wish I could be confident they were updating stuff, but I am not aure that is the case everytime, and if it is and the frequency of the outages is going to be persistent, we should have transparency from them.
Jeanne D +1 Jeanne D and kudos for waiting for a human!
JCPL mission: we still don’t know, we don’t wanna know, and if we did know, we wouldn’t tell you!
Kimberlysea Two >1500, one arrived, one dispatched, one 5;30 etr, one 5:00 pm etr. Shouldn’t be long now. Seems like same thing, same place, soso.
Couple others in area, mist have etrs before 6pm.
Just before the etr witching hour of 5pm, the text came out announcing the new etr of 7pm. 10 minutes later, the power came on. About 30 minutes later the text came out announcing the power was on.
Imagine what this was like before computers and instant messaging.
You can file a complaint here about the recent power outages with the NJ Board Of Public Utilities. https://www.nj.gov/bpu/index.shtml
Complaining about JCP&L is about as productive as
complaining about COMCAST.
Nothing’s gonna change.
Comcast- get satellite, streaming, do without or move.
JCP&L- get a generator or move. (can’t do without)
Stymie I agree with Stymie only in that when you complain to the BPU, it's goes into a deep, dark hole, and you will never see the light. You can't see it, track it, or determine any outcome. Likewise, for normal company issues like billing, BBB probably a better tact. So, it's work without expectation of even a response.
BUT..... if you construct a great complaint, you can try it at the BPU, then edit accordingly like adding --- "if you want my vote, show me some action" --- and try your state representatives at: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/SelectMun.asp. It's got it's own email, so very easy to do once you have the complaint constructed. Just copy/paste the whole zoo full of them.
And then, although one might say it's a state problem, not a Federal problem, you can try: https://www.congress.gov/members?q={%22member-state%22:%22New+Jersey%22}&searchResultViewType=expanded
The federal search is a little more complex in that you have to let the program search based on your location and then it provides a link you can access for each member/site, where you click on contact me, and fire away. Just be prepared to copy paste, with edits, your original complaint adding: "if you want my vote."
Matter of fact, why not begin to construct the complaint right here and now, and we can all pitch in, then copy, paste, put in our own personal tweak and fire away now that we have "the list" of who to contact.
Commenting is no longer available.