It’s Saturday morning, 6:00 a.m. Electric service stopped at 5:14 a.m. My Generac backup kicked in (thanks again, Black River Electric) and, except for my clock blinking “12:00 a.m. ,“ everything was back online. I reported the problem to JCP&L (FYI, 1-888-544-4877), slogged outside, switched off the generator, and got a fire started in the front room hearth.
As with many of us, it is the second time this week that power was lost. The robo-voice at JCP&L’s outage phone number said the first outage was due to problem outside of our area and offered to call me a callback anytime, day or night, when power resumed. I declined, because I start my day at 5:00 a.m. and didn’t need an abrupt phone call before then. Today, the robo-voice gave me an ETA for power of 7:30 a.m. and offered to call me when power was restored. I declined because “first bird,” a robin, was already chirping and the generator noise didn’t justify my power needs (BTW, just got power pack, 6:40 a.m.).
Every blog needs a point be made and mine is that today’s and tomorrow’s power needs can be better addressed locally if we explore what others already have in place-- e.g., My current job assignment location is at an office complex in Wayne, N.J. The expansive office parking lot, like neighboring lots at Wayne Hills H.S. and a William Paterson University building across the street, share a common feature: parking spaces reside under the cover of large solar panels providing power while sheltering autos from the elements.
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The alternative? More JCP&L representatives telling our township committee about the “challenges” and “improvements” in maintaining a century-old infrastructure, that leave us as a low-priority township. The costs? That needs to be explored—and the sooner, the better.
