Sussex County town joins JCP&L accountability review after repeated storm damage
The BPU says the power company failed to meet the minimum reliability level standards in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
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Independence Day weekend brought storm damage all over New Jersey.
One Sussex County town is using that as the last straw - demanding accountability out of JCP&L legally.
Byram Township is a small town in Sussex County, with a population of about 8,000. The mayor there says more than 1,400 customers lost power over Independence Day weekend. It’s one of the reasons this township is pursuing legal intervention into the Board of Public Utilities’ ongoing JCP&L performance investigation.
The BPU says the power company failed to meet the minimum reliability level standards in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
A JCP&L spokesperson told News12 that the company has invested more than $1 billion this year to enhance reliability, adding that areas that have received upgrades have seen an 80% outage reduction.
Byram wants to be one of those areas. They’re pursuing a seat at the table to determine why the town has these power issues and deadlines for improvements.
The BPU will also bring a separate review of the company’s performance during July’s storms. JCP&L tells News 12 it had 5,700 power personnel working over the holiday weekend - including out-of-state aid for the quickest recovery.
The inquiry into the power company’s performance comes as it applied for an 8.5% rate increase this month. That includes a storm recovery charge that would be spread over 10 years - the company says keeping affordability and reliability front of mind.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill made a campaign promise to freeze electric rates. A spokesperson from her office told News 12 that rates remain frozen and that the BPU will go through this filing “with a fine-tooth comb.”
