Sisler: In Power Outage, 'Hang in There' Not Enough

Morris Township Deputy Mayor Bruce Sisler is among the officials expecting to address the BPU , which knocked out power in much of Morris Township for several days.

His prepared remarks are below:

President Solomon and commissioners of the board– thank you for the opportunity to provide some brief remarks on the impact of hurricane Irene and for holding a hearing here in Morris County.  It is very much appreciated.

My name is Bruce Sisler and I am the deputy mayor of Morris Township.  Today, I represent Mayor Scott Rosenbush, the township committee and the residents of Morris Township.  Since Irene, I have met with residents, former JCP&L executives and several individuals that were former linemen, supervisors and foremen at JCP&L.  I cannot claim to be an expert but I have done my homework.

I would like to express our concerns and some recommendations for the BPU to address with JCP&L in hopes that they can do a better job during future major weather events. We believe that there are three areas that are most worrisome.  They are 1. Communication, 2. Maintenance and 3. Preparation.

Communication

I don’t think that anyone here disputes the fact that we experienced a weather event that was quite devastating.  Something that was so large in magnitude that all the prevention in the world could not have kept power from being interrupted. 

Our residents were patient, however when day 2, 3, 4, 5 arrives and still no power, patience wears thin. When the public could not get specific information from the utility they turned to their elected officials for assistance to get needed details. JCPL&L did provide elected officials a telephone contact during this event with assigned area managers ‘responsible’ for our community. While the area managers were professional and responsive unfortunately they had very little useful information needed by the public.

In an effort to advise our constituents of developments, often times, elected officials were relaying bad facts and in the end, no one was a winner- not JCP&L, not the elected officials, and certainly not the public.

In getting to the heart of the communication problem, let me put it to you this way—we speak in different languages: JCP&L speaks in grids and circuits, municipal officials and residents speak in streets and neighborhoods. The inability to match these different languages led to a virtual tower of babel.

While it may seem that telling a young couple or a family with teenagers or a healthy retiree to “hang in there just a little while longer” or “we don’t know when the power will be restored” is acceptable, let’s talk about a Morris Township resident that at the age of 85, living alone with no family in the area and in need of an electric-powered oxyen generator, “hang in there” and “we don’t know” is totally unacceptable.

Or how about the family with a diabetic child who was only allowed two bags of ice from Kings to keep her insulin cold.  This family had a loss of power for almost 8 days. “Hang in there” and “we don’t know” is totally unacceptable.

Or the elderly woman who has an electric wheelchair to get around her home who had no power for 5 days. When the battery dies, how does she get to the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom?  Once again, “hang in there” and “we don’t know” is totally unacceptable.

Communication from JCP&L to these people was totally unacceptable because, in reality, for them it was a matter of stay or evacuate, a matter of life or health.  Towns and residents must have a greater level of communication during and after a storm event.  We need to know precisely where the outages are.  And the public needs just one question answered – “when will my power be restored?”

I hope that you, the BPU, can provide some guidance, suggestions, and if necessary, pressure to get answers, solutions and relief from JCP&L.  Please keep those most fragile in mind in your pursuit.

Maintenance & Prevention

Clearly, maintenance of these systems is a huge concern to all of us.  We have a sub-station in Morristown that is largely out of service because it was flooded and will be operating at reduced levels for several months.  When talking with former employees of JCP&L, I learned that that sub-station has been untouched maintenance-wise and not upgraded for the past 35 years.  Is it possible that regular maintenance has not been performed at a major sub-station since I was 4 years old?

This same sub-station flooded out in 1999 with Hurricane Floyd.  I am asking the BPU to work with JCP&L to phase out this substation, move it, get it out of there. Today, it is not able to do what is needed because it is still drying out—this is a perfect time for this move.  Our residents continue to endure frequent power outages because this sub-station is crippled and many customers have been moved to other, now overloaded, sub-stations.  A commitment to move this substation will show the public that JCP&L is serious about making changes for the better of their customers.  If it cannot be moved then make it ‘bullet proof’ such that it will survive the next major storm.

Inspectors

In an attempt to prevent further problems, the increased use of inspectors by JCP&L to provide maintenance concerns would be a great help.  I understand that there were regular inspections in years past.  I do not know to what extent JCP&L employs inspectors today although I know we pay for them in our monthly bills.  I would ask that these inspections not only be stepped up but I ask that monthly inspection reports be provided to the municipalities for our review and oversight. Again, I believe that this will demonstrate to the public that JCP&L is serious about making changes for the better for their customers.

Tree-trimming

Tree-trimming is yet another area of maintenance and prevention that must be reviewed.  JCP&L’s five-year tree-trimming plan seems to be just a bit too long.  I would ask that the BPU inquire about shortening this process to a two to three-year plan.  Hurricane Irene uprooted trees due to the saturated ground and we know that cannot be prevented.  However, branches that overhang and intertwine wires are dangerous for any storm including early snow and ice storms when leaves are still present.  A few dollars in preventative measures now could mean a significant cost savings later.  As I said, I am not an expert but as my father taught me, “a little common sense goes a long way.”

Since de-regulation, Ohio executives at first energy have taken a lot of money from their new jersey customers.  It is time for them to start putting some money back into infrastructure, back into maintenance for our system,f or preventative measures, for their customers. 

Further Inquiry

Finally, I would ask you to make a full inquiry as to JCP&L’s storm preparations.  In Morris Township, we had several strategy meetings with PEM, police, fire, EMS.  We had to have appropriate manpower, a communications center, evacuation shelter preparation, coordination with the county.  I am sure other towns did the same extensive preparation.   What were JCP&L’s pre-storm mechanics and logistics?  What priorities did they have?  Was there appropriate manpower dispatched and if not, when were outside contractors notified to be on-call?  While JCP&L’s Livingston Mall staging area with crews from around the country was impressive,  it didn’t happen until Sept. 3—5 days after Irene left us.

President Solomon and commissioners, once again thank you for being here in Morris County and for listening.   I hope that you will continue to pursue the productive ideas that come from these hearings to help JCP&L be a better more responsive company to their customers’ needs.  Thank you.