Caffrey to JCP&L: 'I Want That LIst'

Morris Township Committeeman Dan Caffrey said he's fed up with JCP&L's lack of transparency and will demand that the company turn over its priority list for bringing power back to the township's neighborhoods.

"JCP&L has a priority list. They don't have a timeline, but they do have a priority list. I want that list," Caffrey said.

"If someone calls and wants to know when their power is coming back on, I want to be able to tell them where they are on the list. I can't tell them when the power will be back, but at least I can say, 'Your neighborhood is fourth on the list'. Even if I have to say, 'Sorry, Buddy, you're dead last on the list,' at least they'd know."

"JCP&L is holding the keys to the castle and no one else can get in," Caffrey said. "I want to know what they are working on now and what they're working on after that and after that," Caffrey said.

"They say 'be patient.' That works for two or three days but the time for patience is over. They need to provide information. They need to update us [local government] so we can constantly provide information to people in the township and businesses in the township.

"People have lost all their food. They can't flush their toilets. If it were oppressively hot or ridiculously cold this would be much worse."

Caffrey's family was still without power Thursday evening, but he said that's not what is fueling his anger.

"For me it's a minor inconvenience," he said. "I've gotten used to looking at my kids' faces until it gets dark and then we go to bed. But other people have special needs. They need more transparency and I'm going to get it for them.

"They're telling us, '[You'll have power] by four.' Then, nope, we were just kidding. It's tomorrow at six. Now they say by the end of the weekend but what does that mean? Does that mean Sunday? It's a three day weekend. Does that mean Monday? I'd be very surprised if they've got it all done by Wednesday." 

Caffrey said he was furious that inaccurate information on the status of the township's sewer plant was provided by JCP&L.

"They said we had power back and we didn't," he said. "That plant is running on a generator. If something were to happen to that generator, then we'd have a whole lot more problems."

Caffrey blasted JCP&L and its parent company, First Energy, for its allocation of manpower and resources.

"They're clearly not prepared to deal with this," he said. "When First Energy acquired JCP&L (in 2001) they took a lot of the resources out of New Jersey. We're feeling the effects of that right now.

"They say that they're doing all they can. The people working on the street, they're doing all they can–I give them all the credit in the world, but not management."

Caffrey said that the time to seek legislative remedies for JCP&L's poor response times is now.

"Bruce Sisler and myself are going to meet with Anthony Bucco Jr. and Anthony Bucco Sr. about what we can do to get more accountability," he said. "It's next to none right now."

"The federal government did it with the airlines," Caffrey said. "They used to be able to make people sit on the tarmac for 12 hours without giving them any food or water. That's all changed now. When you have a monopoly you need accountability."