NJ Lawmakers Want Answers As 56K Remain Without Power

A top New Jersey lawmaker called the utility company response to a wild storm that ripped though the state this week "inexcusable" as more than 56,000 remain without power.

Many trees are still down and some roads are still closed as JCP&L and PSE&G said it may take until the weekend to fix all the power outages that have plagued hundreds of communities across the state (see list of towns below with outages, as well as road conditions).

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said it is "unacceptable" that tens of thousands of people are still without power – and that an unknown number could be without electricity into the weekend.

"We all knew the forecast called for drenching rain and powerful winds. Utility companies knew that too," he said. "The lack of rapid response is inexcusable."

JCP&L said it is working as rapidly and as safely as possible to make sure that the major of power is restored by Friday. Gov. Phil Murphy visited a JCP&L site in Oceanport on Wednesday where employees have been working around the clock to fix the problems.

Coughlin said losing power for extended periods of time "has become the new norm," adding that the Monday storm "was not a hurricane. It was a thunderstorm."

"I refuse to accept that we simply lose power after almost every thunderstorm," he said. "I call on these utilities to take a close look at their procedures before, during and after storms and come up with a better plan of action. Their customers deserve that.

“Residents who are experiencing a power outage should call their electric company and should not assume someone else has already done it. Those in need of shelter or a place to cool off should call 2-1-1 to find the nearest location.”

Many people continue to recover from the storm that blacked out almost entire towns – such as Manasquan – and left the Howell Police Department without electricity for 26 hours.

Here is the list of towns with power outages as of 10 a.m. on Wednesday:

1. HOWELL TOWNSHIP 4,091
2. WALL TOWNSHIP 3,907
3. LAKEWOOD TOWNSHIP 3,842
4. NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP 3,105
5. JACKSON TOWNSHIP 2,554
6. WILLINGBORO TWP 2,403
7. MANALAPAN TOWNSHIP 2,203
8. FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP 2,178
9. EAST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP 1,894
10. UPPER FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP 1,679
11. MARLBORO TOWNSHIP 1,581
12. PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP 1,470
13. NORTH HANOVER TOWNSHIP 1,385
14. MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP 1,332
15. TINTON FALLS BOROUGH 1,242
16. MANASQUAN BOROUGH 1,187
17. OCEAN TOWNSHIP 1,170
18. CHERRY HILL TWP 1,152
19. BELMAR BOROUGH 957
20. FREEHOLD BOROUGH 952
21. PLUMSTED TOWNSHIP 842
22. MILLSTONE TOWNSHIP 804
23. COLTS NECK TOWNSHIP 782
24. HOLMDEL TOWNSHIP 727
25. MOUNT LAUREL TWP 689
26. WOODBURY CITY 557
27. VOORHEES TWP 508
28. OCEANPORT BOROUGH 495
29. RUMSON BOROUGH 485
30. MOORESTOWN TWP 458
31. LUMBERTON TWP 442
32. COLLINGSWOOD BORO 384
33. TRENTON CITY 357
34. HAMILTON TWP 322
35. ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP 311
36. WOODBURY HEIGHTS BORO 298
37. CAMDEN CITY 289
38. WEST DEPTFORD TWP 278
39. BRICK TOWNSHIP 275
40. MANSFIELD TWP 255
41. SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 249
42. LITTLE SILVER BOROUGH 246
43. FAIR HAVEN BOROUGH 241
44. HADDON TWP 239
45. NEW HANOVER TOWNSHIP 237
46. LONG BRANCH CITY 221
47. BORDENTOWN TWP 217
48. MOUNT HOLLY TWP 201
49. ASBURY PARK CITY 201
50. ROBBINSVILLE TOWNSHIP 194
51. WEST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP 190
52. CHESTERFIELD TWP 187
53. PENNSAUKEN TWP 178
54. PALMYRA BORO 154
55. CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP 149
56. WRIGHTSTOWN BOROUGH 145
57. HAINESPORT TWP 140
58. HADDONFIELD BORO 139
59. FLORENCE TWP 132
60. EASTAMPTON TWP 130
61. CINNAMINSON TWP 115
62. MAPLE SHADE TWP 104
63. EATONTOWN BOROUGH 104
64. SHREWSBURY TOWNSHIP 94
65. FARMINGDALE BOROUGH 92
66. DELRAN TWP 91
67. AUDUBON BORO 90
68. LAWRENCE TWP 90
69. WEST WINDSOR TWP 88
70. ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS BOROUGH 86
71. RED BANK BOROUGH 84
72. SPRING LAKE HEIGHTS BOROUGH 76
73. LIBERTY TOWNSHIP 69
74. SPRINGFIELD TWP 65
75. EVESHAM TWP 62
76. SOMERDALE BORO 60
77. SPRING LAKE BOROUGH 54
78. NATIONAL PARK BORO 53
79. SHREWSBURY BOROUGH 53
80. POINT PLEASANT BOROUGH 53
81. TOMS RIVER TOWNSHIP 51
82. BARRINGTON BORO 49
83. PEMBERTON TWP 45
84. OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP 45
85. HADDON HEIGHTS BORO 44
86. EWING TWP 44
87. ENGLISHTOWN BOROUGH 43
88. HAZLET TOWNSHIP 43
89. ENGLEWOOD CITY 42
90. DEAL BOROUGH 41
91. EDGEWATER PARK TWP 39
92. DEPTFORD TWP 39
93. KEYPORT BOROUGH 39
94. WOODLYNNE BORO 37
95. BORDENTOWN CITY 35
96. BURLINGTON TWP 33
97. MATAWAN BOROUGH 29
98. MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP 29
99. SOUTHAMPTON TWP 28
100. SEA GIRT BOROUGH 25
101. UPPER FREEHOLD TWP 24
102. GLOUCESTER TWP 23
103. MONMOUTH BEACH BOROUGH 21
104. MORRIS TOWNSHIP 21
105. MEDFORD TWP 20
106. GREEN BROOK TWP 20
107. BRADLEY BEACH BOROUGH 20
108. ROOSEVELT BOROUGH 20
109. ALLENHURST BOROUGH 18
110. MERCHANTVILLE BORO 17
111. INTERLAKEN BOROUGH 17
112. BURLINGTON CITY 16
113. EDISON TWP 16
114. SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP 16
115. WESTAMPTON TWP 14
116. RUNNEMEDE BORO 13
117. SAYREVILLE BOROUGH 13
118. NEPTUNE CITY BOROUGH 12
119. PRINCETON 11
120. MONTGOMERY TWP 11
121. POINT PLEASANT BEACH BOROUGH 11
122. CRANBURY TWP 10
123. MANVILLE BORO 10
124. MONROE TOWNSHIP 10
125. LOCH ARBOUR VILLAGE 10
126. LAWNSIDE BORO 9
127. ROBBINSVILLE TWP 9
128. MANSFIELD TOWNSHIP 9
129. RIVERTON BORO 8
130. OAKLYN BORO 8
131. HIGHTSTOWN BOROUGH 8
132. BRIELLE BOROUGH 8
133. LAKE COMO BOROUGH 8
134. Ramsey 7
135. BRIDGEWATER TWP 6
136. HOPEWELL TWP 5
137. WEST LONG BRANCH BOROUGH 5

JCP&L, meanwhile, has expanded its list of places to go for water and ice:

CENTRAL NEW JERSEY

• ShopRite, 2 Rt 37 W, Toms River
• ShopRite, Rt 36 & Rt 71, W Long Branch
• ShopRite, 2200 Rt 66, Neptune
• ShopRite, 2433 Rt 34, Manasquan
• ShopRite, 1801 Rt 35, Belmar
• ShopRite, 431 Atlantic City Blvd., Bayville
• ShopRite, 860 Fischer Blvd., Toms River
• ShopRite, 260 N County Line Road, Jackson
• ShopRite, Rt 9 & 1st Street, Lanoka Harbor
• ShopRite, 297 NJ-72, Manahawkin
• ShopRite, 1001 Rt-70, West Manchester Township
• ShopRite, 501 S Main St., Suite 100, Waretown
• ShopRite, 4594 Rt 9 S, Howell
• ShopRite, 319 Rt 130 N, East Windsor
• ShopRite, 3585 Hwy 9, Freehold
• ShopRite, 280 Hwy 9 N, Morganville
• ShopRite, 2909 Washington Rd., Parlin
• ShopRite, 318 Lloyd Rd., Aberdeen
• ShopRite, 3140 State Hwy 35, Hazlet
• ShopRite, 1361 Route 35, Middletown
• Acme, 912 West Bay Ave., Barnegat
• Acme, 18 Broadway Rd, Browns Mills
• Acme, 3241 Rt 9, Freehold
• Acme, 616 Newman Springs Rd., Lincroft
• Acme, 507 Prospect Ave, Little Silver
• Acme, 3505 Rt 9, Old Bridge
• Acme, 5 Ortley Plaza, Seaside Heights
• Acme, 990 Shrewsbury Ave., Tinton Falls
• Foodtown, Route 35 Seagirt Avenue, Sea Girt
• Foodtown, 1562 route 35, Ocean
• Foodtown, 362 Broad St., Red Bank
• Foodtown, 9 Rt 36, Atlantic Highlands
• Foodtown, 426 Rt 36, Port Monmouth

NORTHERN NEW JERSEY

• ShopRite – Ronetco, 90-80 Rt 206 N, Byram
• ShopRite – Ronetco, 125 Water St., Newton
• ShopRite, 93 Morristown Rd., Bernardsville
• ShopRite, 1153 Valley Rd., Stirling
• ShopRite, 727 Morris Turnpike, Springfield
• ShopRite, 641 Shunpike Rd., Chatham
• Kings, 977 Valley Rd., Gillette
• Kings, 778 Morris Tpke, Short Hills
• Kings, 100 Morristown Rd., Bernardsville
• Kings, 393 Main Street,Chatham
• Kings, 784 Springfield Ave., Chatham
• Kings, 64 Mt Blvd., Brady Shopping Center, Warren

Here is a list of road conditions:

• Downed pole and a Downed tree and Downed wires and Weather related on Jefferson Avenue in both directions area of Riveredge Road in Tenafly. All lanes closed until further notice, Expect delays and detours.
• Roving repairs on the Garden State Parkway local lanes northbound from North of Asbury Toll Plaza in Tinton Falls to South of Exit 124 - Main St in Sayreville.
• Pothole repairs on I-287 northbound South of Exit 35 - NJ 124 in Morristown. Right lane blocked.
• Disabled vehicle on the George Washington Bridge eastbound Lower Trans Manhattan Expressway in Manhattan. Right lane blocked.
• Watermain break on East Palisade Avenue westbound between Lincoln Street and Jones Road in Englewood. All lanes closed until further notice.
• Watermain break on Brayton Street in both directions between Walnut Street and Wast Palisade Avenue in Englewood. All lanes closed until further notice.
• 6As of 9:27am, there's a Watermain break on Jones Road northbound between Mountain Road and East Palisades Avenue in Englewood. All lanes closed until further notice.
• Watermain break on NJ 4 westbound CR 61 in Paramus. Right shoulder closed (for emergency fire hydrant repair).
• Emergency construction on US 30 westbound CR 673/White Horse Av in Stratford. Right lane closed until further notice.
• Delays at the Holland Tunnel eastbound from New Jersey . The travel time to the New York side is 25 minutes from New Jersey Turnpike Exit 14C, and 25 minutes from New Jersey 139 at Tonnelle Circle.
• Delays on the George Washington Bridge eastbound from New Jersey Side/Upper Level Toll Plaza in Fort Lee . The travel time is 35 minutes from Interstate 95 at Interstate 80 to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge.
• Delays on the George Washington Bridge eastbound from New Jersey Side/Lower Level Toll Plaza in Fort Lee . The travel time is 25 minutes on Interstate 95 at Interstate 80 to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge.
• Delays on US 1&9/Tonnelle Avenue northbound between NJ 139 Lower and Manhattan Av in Jersey City delays due to volume.
• Delays on US 1&9 northbound approaching George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee delays due to volume.
• Delays on NJ 495 eastbound between New Jersey Turnpike in Secaucus and Lincoln Tunnel in Weehawken Twp delays due to volume.
• Delays on NJ 4 eastbound between Hackensack Av in Hackensack and Queen Anne Rd in Teaneck Twp delays due to volume.
• Delays on NJ 139 Lower eastbound between Tonnelle Avenue and Jersey Ave in Jersey City delays due to volume.
• Delays on I-78 eastbound between Exit 58 - US 1&9/E. Port St and New Jersey Turnpike Toll Plaza in Newark delays due to volume.
• Delays at the Lincoln Tunnel eastbound from New Jersey. The travel time is 30 minutes from New Jersey Turnpike Exit 16E to the New York side.
• Delays on the Garden State Parkway northbound from South of Exit 143C - NJ 124 in Irvington Twp to South of Exit 147 - Clinton Ave in East Orange 3 mile delay, due to volume