Power Outages Linger In Toms River, Lakewood After Substation Fire

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Power outages continue to linger for some Toms River and Lakewood residents Monday afternoon as Jersey Central Power & Light crews work to repair damage following a fire, officials said.

The fire started late Sunday night at the substation on Silverton Road and knocked out service to about 9,900 customers, said Chris Hoenig, a spokesman for JCP&L.

All but about 1,600 customers in Toms River and Lakewood — primarily in the Holiday City at Silverton community — had their service restored as of 1:30 p.m.

Hoenig said the remaining customers will be without service for the duration of the repairs to the substation. The company estimates service will be restored by about 8 p.m.

He said crews will be working throughout the day to restore power to customers as quickly and as safely as possible.

"Work continues to try to isolate damaged equipment," Hoenig said in a tweet. "Replacement parts are already on the way. Still will take a large portion of the day to repair."

"For the safety of our crews, additional customers may experience a service interruption during the day as crews isolate and repair damaged equipment," he said.

"We understand how difficult it is to be without power, especially on a hot, humid day," Hoenig said in a statement published by Toms River police. "We appreciate your patience as we work to get all customers back up and running."

For affected customers, ice and water are available at ShopRite on Route 70 in Brick and at ShopRite on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River. Customers can ask for a voucher at the customer service desk, Hoenig said.

There was no information on the cause of the fire at the substation.