Sandy repair check - do you have power?

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Simple thread: Curious to see how many of you have power, don't have power, or had power and lost it during last night's snow.

I know I don't have power and may not get it back before Thanksgiving/Dec 1.

For those of you who don't have power, post up where you're at.

[WildBillyT]

Got it back on Tuesday night.

[Jersey Mike]

Never lost it in Oakland.
In Randolph lost it Monday night & got it back Thursday night.

[BonzoHansen]

lost it last monday, got it back last thursday

[Featherburner]

Mine was out for a little over a day and a half.

[JL8Jeff]

Lost it for a day and a half but it's on. It flickered a few times last night, but still on.

[PolarBear]

During Sandy it flickered a few times, then it was out for about 45 minutes for repairs in the neighborhood. No problem last night

[Mike]

During Sandy it flickered a few times, then it was out for about 45 minutes for repairs in the neighborhood. No problem last night

Really? My parents was out until weds.



I lost power 10pm Monday. And got it back around 9pm weds

[greenformula92]

I was out for 9 days. Had it a day. Lost it again with the snow. Mom never lost power for sandy. Just lost it about a half hour ago because of a popped transformer

[OG]

On day 11 now with no power

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

On day 11 now with no power

Where in Morris County?

[1320B4U]

^ Same here...11 days no power yet.

[PolarBear]

Really? My parents was out until weds.



I lost power 10pm Monday. And got it back around 9pm weds

They are on the same grid as I am, but it spreads out like a christmas tree, goes down Carlise and then down the streets from there. They must have been on the side that the tree took down.

One of the guys at work showed me the neighborhood on the EMS program a few months ago. I mentioned to him that the neighbor on Sweetbriar would lose power more frequently but not me, so he showed me the layout. We get our power from JCPL kind of even though we are in PSEG territory, interesting to see

[sweetbmxrider]

Lost it from the storm last night in brick, still have power at work in point, and still no power since sandy in belmar.

[8hnpSS]

I lost it for 4 days because of sandy but ive had it since

[V]

I lost it monday-thrusday, Not as bad as being out for 6 days last year.

ORU is a joke. I was complaining about them to my GF and she was trying to back them up saying they are probably doing the best they can. She has PSE&G and was only out for 1.5 days this storm and last year. She has no idea how much being without power for days sucks.

I only have pse&g for natural gas, and I got email updates sometimes twice a day about their progress, work zones and daily plans. ORU has my email, yet not a peep from them. Even the governor wasn't impressed by their progress and commented on it in one of his addresses. Only then my GF realized I wasn't out of line with my accusations.

[1320B4U]

Yup..o/r sucks royally...waste. they should pass a statue that after x amt of days, customers could get hotels rooms by using their utility acct number for billing to that utility co...then and only then will we see faster progress.

[PolarBear]

Yup..o/r sucks royally...waste. they should pass a statue that after x amt of days, customers could get hotels rooms by using their utility acct number for billing to that utility co...then and only then will we see faster progress.

I think RO is a very small provider, not as large as like PSEG or JCPL. They simply dont have the resources that other companies do

[LTb1ow]

Power went out at work, sitting round all afternoon doing nothing

[KevinW]

western Monmouth Co. Been without power since 10-29, they finally fixed it last night (nov 7) around 6pm, just in time for the 1 foot of heavy snow. Which took out the whole township at 8:45pm (missed the end of survivor!). Plus my heater broke that was just working on the generator that morning. Then I had to give the borrowed gen back today. The snow caused more tree damage then Sandy. very disheartened

[OG]

Where in Morris County?

Montville

[OG]

I think RO is a very small provider, not as large as like PSEG or JCPL. They simply dont have the resources that other companies do

Had pse&g when I lived in Bergen county, they were pretty decent. jcp&l who i have now is a joke. This is the 3rd time in 2 years that I've been out for more then a week. jcp&l doesn't communicate worth a ****

[rickyd13]

was out for like 3-4 days and been on since then

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

http://longvalley.patch.com/articles/power-fully-restored-to-nj-by-sunday-christie-says

Gov. Chris Christie praised the National Guard's work in New Jersey during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and reportedly said he expects all power to be restored to the state by early Sunday.

Woohoo?

Also that people can visit the barrier islands as early as this weekend.

[grazi]

Lost it for about 5 minutes during the high winds of Sandy..Been fine since but Areas of my town (Denville)still dont have it though.

[chrisfrom nj]

i lost power monday night during sandy and got it back monday night

[sweetbmxrider]

Pumped 2 feet out of belmar house. Still powerless.

[KirkEvil]

http://www.fairfield-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/FS-SANDY-NO-POWER-360x225.jpg

[L695speed]

Lost it Monday during Sandy, got it back just this past Tuesday around noon

[KevinW]

Got power back (again) last night (11/8). Still no heat from broken furnace (parts on order from Amazon), no one had them locally :(

[sweetbmxrider]

Power back in brick last night round dinner time. Still dark in belmar....

[1320B4U]

Got it back around 7pm last night and now lost it again at 8am this morning.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Still no sign of power at home since the beginning of the storm.

[OG]

Still no sign of power at home since the beginning of the storm.

My place too. My patience is long gone at this point...

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

My place too. My patience is long gone at this point...

Trucks were spotted in my area last night and the power got a little closer to me, so I got incredibly excited coming home from work last night.

[The_Bishop]

I almost, kinda have power. I can run my house lights, that's about it. The neutral leg on the wires to my house is broken, and they're more or less hanging down on my front lawn. a dozen calls later, still no joy from JCP&L. Filed a complaint with NJBPU, got a callback from them the next day. They didn't like that too much. I don't give a damn, I don't like not having power and keeping almost everything unplugged. The sad thing is, according to their 'restoration' web page there are only 7 homes without power in Independence. If that's true I'm going to play the lottery.

I'm thinking their 'restoration' page is a steaming pile of BS, personally.

If I don't have someone here today, I'm filing a *second* complaint with NJBPU. There's only 7 homes with no power, well they should be able to bang that out quick today, right?

[OG]

I'm thinking their 'restoration' page is a steaming pile of BS, personally.



x2

The numbers on the restoration graph are always different from the outage map numbers.

[PolarBear]

I almost, kinda have power. I can run my house lights, that's about it. The neutral leg on the wires to my house is broken, and they're more or less hanging down on my front lawn. a dozen calls later, still no joy from JCP&L. Filed a complaint with NJBPU, got a callback from them the next day. They didn't like that too much. I don't give a damn, I don't like not having power and keeping almost everything unplugged. The sad thing is, according to their 'restoration' web page there are only 7 homes without power in Independence. If that's true I'm going to play the lottery.

I'm thinking their 'restoration' page is a steaming pile of BS, personally.

If I don't have someone here today, I'm filing a *second* complaint with NJBPU. There's only 7 homes with no power, well they should be able to bang that out quick today, right?

From some that works for a power company, IMO you're being a complete ass. You have no idea how large JCP&L territory is and how much work they physically have to do. If the rest of your town has power that means they are working in the rest of the state fixing the main grid and will get back to you once the main grid has been repaired they will restore individual homes.

They are not ignoring you, they are busy with MORE IMPORTANT THINGS THAN SEVEN CUSTOMERS

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

If I don't have someone here today, I'm filing a *second* complaint with NJBPU. There's only 7 homes with no power, well they should be able to bang that out quick today, right?

Triage - biggest neighborhoods/grids first, no?

[BurninrubberGT]

my family got it back wednesday morning

[WildBillyT]

From some that works for a power company, IMO you're being a complete ass. You have no idea how large JCP&L territory is and how much work they physically have to do. If the rest of your town has power that means they are working in the rest of the state fixing the main grid and will get back to you once the main grid has been repaired they will restore individual homes.

They are not ignoring you, they are busy with MORE IMPORTANT THINGS THAN SEVEN CUSTOMERS

Bear, I know where you are coming from but the least they can do is be straight with their customers.

[PolarBear]

Bear, I know where you are coming from but the least they can do is be straight with their customers.

Sitting at work right now just heard a story.

Short of the story is a customer called and reported a dangerous situation, wires hanging near a fence and we were forced to just cut them so no one would potentially be injured. This resulted in the person reporting the issue to lose power. They had to put the order into the system for repair. Mind you this is now over a week after the storm. Her number in "line" was over 900, there are 900 orders in front of her. Somehow this person got a this supervisor's number, and was complaining about her situation, meanwhile she was holding him up from sending out dispatches. This is only in the SOUTHERN area, we have 4 divisions, who knows how many open tickets we have open across the state

I know it is a ****** situation but you called in your ticket, they know, they will get to it, there is only so much they can do in one day and so many people that can do the work.

This storm is the worst the east coast has seen in a long time, or ever. There are only so many resources available to do mundane tasks. They is no way for PSEG, JCPL etc to call 2,000,000 people and let them know what the status is of his/her house. They are doing what they can, as fast as they can. God knows JCP&L is doing what they can since last year they were reprimanded by the BPU for taking too long on the repairs. I am sure they have called in more help than last year.

One of my colleagues volunteered one night. What did he do for 12 hours? He sat in his car near a downed pole and made sure that no one drove over the live wires at risk to himself. We have lots of volunteers with desk jobs doing this type work. Also for lookup where they are dispatched to go find the break in the circuit and then report back to HQ to tell them what poles the break is in between. These are people that have desk jobs and push papers all day long. We have almost every possible resource doing SOMETHING to get power back to customers as soon as possible.

[WildBillyT]

Sitting at work right now just heard a story.

Short of the story is a customer called and reported a dangerous situation, wires hanging near a fence and we were forced to just cut them so no one would potentially be injured. This resulted in the person reporting the issue to lose power. They had to put the order into the system for repair. Mind you this is now over a week after the storm. Her number in "line" was over 900, there are 900 orders in front of her. Somehow this person got a this supervisor's number, and was complaining about her situation, meanwhile she was holding him up from sending out dispatches. This is only in the SOUTHERN area, we have 4 divisions, who knows how many open tickets we have open across the state

I know it is a ****** situation but you called in your ticket, they know, they will get to it, there is only so much they can do in one day and so many people that can do the work.

This storm is the worst the east coast has seen in a long time, or ever. There are only so many resources available to do mundane tasks. They is no way for PSEG, JCPL etc to call 2,000,000 people and let them know what the status is of his/her house. They are doing what they can, as fast as they can. God knows JCP&L is doing what they can since last year they were reprimanded by the BPU for taking too long on the repairs. I am sure they have called in more help than last year.

One of my colleagues volunteered one night. What did he do for 12 hours? He sat in his car near a downed pole and made sure that no one drove over the live wires at risk to himself. We have lots of volunteers with desk jobs doing this type work. Also for lookup where they are dispatched to go find the break in the circuit and then report back to HQ to tell them what poles the break is in between. These are people that have desk jobs and push papers all day long. We have almost every possible resource doing SOMETHING to get power back to customers as soon as possible.

See, this is the straightest answer I have ever gotten. A lot of people would just be happy to have a non-whitewashed/generic update. Then at least they have managed expectations.

Example: When it got knocked out in Flemington, they said it would be back the 7th. Long time, but at least an accurate guess. It came back on the 6th, and JCP&L looks good. Even though it took a while, I don't think anybody would argue against the crazy situation being the reason for the long delay. But at least we could plan accordingly and it wasn't just "spread your ass till we get around to you."

Some dumbass, somewhere came up with the idea that cable/wireless/power/gas/phone/etc companies should just give blowoff answers to people, and that compounds the anger.

[PolarBear]

I should also add that most of the people working are also customers within the state. I know a lot of them are also without power at home so you can also get your power back at home.

I remember someone last year saying that while he was working here after the hurricane his home was without power and his wife and kids were at home while his basement was filling with water.

Whaaaaa :cry: I only have lights on at home and I cant plug in my TV or my refrigerator, stop complaining about your first world problems :evil:

[1320B4U]

Just a ? but if your at work at the power co what are you doing on here?

[PolarBear]

Just a ? but if your at work at the power co what are you doing on here?

I sit at a desk most of the time. I have been working to coordinate the two contractors that work for me and also making fixes/changes to try to get our electric division to get the information they need from their systems back to the HQ, in addition to doing my regular job. I have a few minutes here and there now that most of what I can actually do is past to go online. I have to tel to Verizon all the time to try to find out status' of the various data circuits we have from them, lots of time on the phone

Got this in a corporate email a few minutes ago

PSE&G storm update – Nov. 9 at 11:45 a.m.

• Outages:
o 33,600 remain from Hurricane Sandy. Power has been restored to 98 percent of 1.7 million customers impacted.
o 21,700 remain from the Nor’easter Wednesday night.
• PSE&G expects to have power restored to 99.5 percent of remaining customers by midnight tonight. There may be some customers whose restoration will extend into the weekend, depending on the amount of repairs that need to be done. The utility and out-of-state crews will continue to work around the clock until the last customer is back in service.
• Most of the remaining outages result from localized issues that could not be corrected after a system or circuit outage was restored. Since service restoration began, PSE&G has replaced at least 2,500 poles and 1,000 transformers, as well as cut down 41,000 trees, to repair widespread damage from the hurricane. Contrary to rumors, PSE&G has ample supplies of poles and other equipment on hand.


The sheer volume of 1.7 million customers is astounding, I think we only have 2.5 million customers or something. Not to mention 41,000 trees cut down.


Got a link to this too (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/11/08/if-you-think-utility-workers-live-a-different-life-than-you-think-again/). Its an article from CBS news

Quote from the article
PSE&G’s Mike Giardina is in many ways powerful. His job is to help fix the damage from the storms that hit our area and get your home up and running.

He does it cheerfully, even though he, himself, is powerless. His home at the Jersey Shore was inundated with three feet of water, so he can’t live there.

[donnj]

still nothing here, they say Nov 11. A bit off topic but was wondering who came up with the amazing spill proof design of all these new gas containers lately, a few twists and they are broken resulting in using no spout at all. I never once had a problem with a old plastic container with a spout on one side with a cap on it and a small vent on the opposite side.

[WildBillyT]

still nothing here, they say Nov 11. A bit off topic but was wondering who came up with the amazing spill proof design of all these new gas containers lately, a few twists and they are broken resulting in using no spout at all. I never once had a problem with a old plastic container with a spout on one side with a cap on it and a small vent on the opposite side.

I have always found it odd that the new "environmental cans" (that were designed with no vents, and don't give off fuel vapors into the atmosphere) force everybody I know to spill a LOT more gas directly on the ground.

[1320B4U]

You have my respect polarbear....thought i would have gotten reamed for asking that question...lol.


Biggest issue i think folks have is not w/not having power but the trouble they are having getting a response or timeline. Biggest thing is perception...if an email werre to be sent out or letter (even snailmail yes but in times of no power that is still the best form of communication) informing folks of the status or work in progress that may help some people. Folks hear of their coworker getting power and they automatically think they are next in line...just human nature...hope is what we rely on but disappointment is what sends us in a tizzy.

[1320B4U]

...yeah, and those spill proof nozzels suck..i finished off my geranium the other night from the overspray.

[PolarBear]

You have my respect polarbear....thought i would have gotten reamed for asking that question...lol.


Biggest issue i think folks have is not w/not having power but the trouble they are having getting a response or timeline.

I understand the issues with wanting/needing to know when a person is going to get restoration. The problem is there is a disconnect between the side of the company that takes the phone calls and the company that does the repairs (PSEG is actually 4 different companies and the side that does call support is not in direct contact with the side that does the repairs, at least as I understand it but I see it firsthand within my department even). The call center has no way to know how the system processed the information and how the division is going to prioritize the repairs once the major stuff is done.

The only way to get that info is to talk to a supervisor in the division, but then this takes time away from that person to do his/her job. Some people have been literally LIVING at work for the past week and are working hard to restore your service. My friend has to support our network operations and she was here for 29 hours last week in one sitting, she slept and and here for the entire time.

[LTb1ow]

My work lost two weeks of time becuase the idiots who coordinate the crews round us have no clue where or what grids do what and we lost prob a few million in revenue due to a bad fuse in one transformer.

Solution to figuring out if a transformer is good, well, energize it up, if it blows, guess its bad!

And thats coming from the prez of JCP&L, one of the guys at work knows him and asked why we lost power. I understand the overwhelming amount of people that need help and the limited resources, but everything I have heard indicates that JCP&L are struggling to do anything short of saying their doing all they can.

:shrugs:

Would have thought they would have plans for this stuff, find problem in this grid, fix problem, turn on grid, move on. Triage it if you want etc. God knows I pay for electric and would be nice if they spent that money on more than just keeping Bear employed :P

[WildBillyT]

My work lost two weeks of time becuase the idiots who coordinate the crews round us have no clue where or what grids do what and we lost prob a few million in revenue due to a bad fuse in one transformer.

Solution to figuring out if a transformer is good, well, energize it up, if it blows, guess its bad!

And thats coming from the prez of JCP&L, one of the guys at work knows him and asked why we lost power. I understand the overwhelming amount of people that need help and the limited resources, but everything I have heard indicates that JCP&L are struggling to do anything short of saying their doing all they can.

:shrugs:

Would have thought they would have plans for this stuff, find problem in this grid, fix problem, turn on grid, move on. Triage it if you want etc. God knows I pay for electric and would be nice if they spent that money on more than just keeping Bear employed :P

What leads me to believe it's a problem with JCP&L is last year's situation. PSE&G had more that twice the amount of people out of power and still beat JCP&L to 100% restored by a large margin.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Solution for new cans: Siphon. I've used it on my ski for years and use it on the generator now.

Bear, it's too bad you don't work for JCP&L to give me one of their updates!

[LTb1ow]

What leads me to believe it's a problem with JCP&L is last year's situation. PSE&G had more that twice the amount of people out of power and still beat JCP&L to 100% restored by a large margin.

Yup, "hurricane Christy" is now upon them, and as he should. :lol:

Sure they have 2 million customers, which also means they have a **** ton of revenue coming in all year, so them not being prepared to fix their infrastructure bothers me.

/angry bussiness rant

[WildBillyT]

Solution for new cans: Siphon. I've used it on my ski for years and use it on the generator now.

Bear, it's too bad you don't work for JCP&L to give me one of their updates!

I retrofitted my cans with a sealable vent and gutted the nozzle.

[sweetbmxrider]

I still think people don't grasp the situation. I watched countless transformers blow up first hand. Countless tress fell adding another complex to the process of restoring the grids. I can't imagine what could have blown at substations when things went down while there was still power in them. The fact that we had power restored so quickly is nothing short of amazing. This is not just the local guys too, there are utility companies here from around the country. They have to learn all that is going on, where to go, etc etc and I can only humble myself in knowing how far they are from home to help bring some normality to my life. I really think people need to step back and appreciate it all. I still don't have power where I currently rent and I have no problem waiting for it.

[LTb1ow]

I still think people don't grasp the situation. I watched countless transformers blow up first hand. Countless tress fell adding another complex to the process of restoring the grids. I can't imagine what could have blown at substations when things went down while there was still power in them. The fact that we had power restored so quickly is nothing short of amazing. This is not just the local guys too, there are utility companies here from around the country. They have to learn all that is going on, where to go, etc etc and I can only humble myself in knowing how far they are from home to help bring some normality to my life. I really think people need to step back and appreciate it all. I still don't have power where I currently rent and I have no problem waiting for it.

Not trying to take away from it, cause they are certainly far from home etc, but they are def making bank with OT, travel time, hazardous pay etc.

[sweetbmxrider]

I'll be tempted to ask next time I see an out of state truck. I'm not talking PA or NY or DE, I've seen Michigan State Police, trucks from texas, new mexico, louisianna, and so on.

[OG]

If you were making double or triple time would you be in a rush???

DGAF about excuses. I'm still outta power and I'm disgruntled.

[1320B4U]

I heard local region triple time today as well. If your from a region w/a lower pay scale, and you work in say LI, your definately making some bank these couple of weeks. I've seen montana plates but the scouters by me were all from Florida and freezing their butts off, told them i'd sell them firewood cheap.

[L695speed]

Well for those of you who still don't have power. I don't know where it was going, but last night I came up behind an 18 wheeler flatbed filled with power transformers. It was heading northbound on 206 heading through the square in Newton. So I guess some people up here in NW Jersey will be getting power back soon I hope. I heard people saying they won't have power til December.

I agree that the lack of communication and the inability to plan and uncertainty is driving people insane and getting people angry. My mom was getting all stressed out from the lack of power because of the cold, darkness and crappy meals we've had to quickly make due to things going bad or cooking frozen things. And we did stock up on things before the storm. We knew it was going to go out. Didn't expect to go 8 days without power.

Hope those with kids in school are not gonna get screwed with plans for Christmas and what not. I've heard of schools saying they will cut into Christmas break because of the storm. Hopactcong I know has more than 10 days without school and they are still using the HS as a shelter.

[BonzoHansen]

Hope those with kids in school are not gonna get screwed with plans for Christmas and what not. I've heard of schools saying they will cut into Christmas break because of the storm. Hopactcong I know has more than 10 days without school and they are still using the HS as a shelter.

kids have to go to school 180 days, that is state law. they gotta go sometime

[BigAls87Z28]

Yeah, my little brother's spring break has been eliminated because teachers cannot work past a certain day.

Anyway, power came back Weds, so I turned on every single ****ing light I could and cranked the heat up to 75*. Power then went out about an hour later, only to return.

My father had as similar issue. Power returned to him Sunday, but then it went out with the snow storm. It came back around 8 tonight.

[V]

The amount of trucks that are staged at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus is ridiculous.
I'm talking hundreds.

All seem to be out of state, yet during the days, I never see them anywhere around.

[BonzoHansen]

Yeah, my little brother's spring break has been eliminated because teachers cannot work past a certain day. they have contracts. if they stay too long we have to pay them

[PolarBear]

The amount of trucks that are staged at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus is ridiculous.
I'm talking hundreds.

All seem to be out of state, yet during the days, I never see them anywhere around.

Those are for PSEG, that was one of the locations for the volunteers to go and work from

[Treetop]

2012/11/10 About 90% of the town is back...gas lines are down...

Now I need to get back and have my rear end looked at on my 97 z28 Convertible...

[L695speed]

kids have to go to school 180 days, that is state law. they gotta go sometime

I've heard of people saying they will see if they can get the state to waive that requirement because they all have 5+ "snow" days already and we haven't even hit the worst of winter yet. Even my Mom said by the time summer comes around they're all watching stupid movies in class. Hopactcong tried to get the state to waive the requirement last year, after that freak October storm. The state said no. This time....god knows what will happen. Hopefully, the teachers cooperate if they have to have class on saturdays to get to 180 days. Thanks to the cancellation of the teachers convention in AC...some districts up here only have 3 snow days vs 5+. Some are just opening on Monday for the first time or yesterday. They're the ones who are gonna get screwed on schedules. Not to mention down the shore.

[sweetbmxrider]

Still no power in Belmar. Drove through Bay Head after getting through the national guard check point for towing purposes, its a war zone. They are only starting to let people get into theirs homes south of there like Lavalette, LBI, etc. so just be god damn grateful you have a roof over your head. If you need to have power, get a generator and count your blessings.

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Got power back at home last night, but not all of town has it. Down here in Forked River, I've seen power everywhere - I'm helping around the general area this weekend so I'll be scoping it out.

[Featherburner]

My inlaws house on LBI has power and water but no gas so, they can't stay at their house. They are there now starting the cleanup.

[The_Bishop]

My power lines (from pole to house) are still semi-broken. The two hot legs are intact, but the neutral leg is broken. That means I can run some lights, not much else. Anything else causes voltage sags/spikes all over the house. Oh, yeah... The power lines laying on my lawn, that are energized... Not dangerous at all, right? It's getting old, and getting non-stop excuses from JCP&L is getting equally old. According to their outage map, however, Independence is 100% restored. I must be delusional.

[sweetbmxrider]

You should be happy they didn't cut the lines like they did to most homes.

[The_Bishop]

Not sure how much different that would be from now? Only reason they haven't dealt with my lines is that my house is situated above the roadway by a good 20-25 feet. So while the energized wires make the front of my house a hazardous place to be, they're not affecting the traffic.

What pisses me off is that this is a 20 minute repair. Re-attach the neutral wire (which also serves as the tension wire to keep the lines up), re-connect it to the wire hanging out of the weatherhead. It'll take more time to put the bucket up than it would to fix it. If I had any idea it was going to take this long, when the power was still down I would have made the repair myself. I'm tired of the 'camping in my own living room' feeling. It's time for the upper management types to pull their heads out so the boots on the ground can get the job done. I've spoken to a few of the repair crews. They spend *way* too much time waiting for work orders, sitting idle for an hour at a time waiting to be told where to go next. What's going on now is a classic example of leadership failure.

[LTb1ow]

Still no power in Belmar. Drove through Bay Head after getting through the national guard check point for towing purposes, its a war zone. They are only starting to let people get into theirs homes south of there like Lavalette, LBI, etc. so just be god damn grateful you have a roof over your head. If you need to have power, get a generator and count your blessings.

Going down to LBI tomorrow, may bring fancy camera.

[sweetbmxrider]

Please do, would really help show the devastation to those who are not aware.

[sweetbmxrider]

Neighbor says power has been restored. Now we just need to replace the sump pump, hot water heater, and furnace to make the house livable. Oh and pump the 2 feet of water back out. Lovely.

[The_Bishop]

Ouch. Good luck, man.

[LTb1ow]

Neighbor says power has been restored. Now we just need to replace the sump pump, hot water heater, and furnace to make the house livable. Oh and pump the 2 feet of water back out. Lovely.

Stop being a dylan

[BonzoHansen]

I see the 13th avenue pavilion in belmar is gone. :(

[PolarBear]

From an email I just got at work;

We know what a devastating time this has been for the people of New Jersey. Hurricane Sandy left more than 1.7 million PSE&G customers without power. Over the two week period, including the Nor'easter, we restored power to more customers than in any other storm in our history - or in the history of any utility in the country. We brought in 1,000 out-of-state line workers and tree trimmers in preparation for the storm and that number grew to more than 4,000 by November 9th. In the first three days alone, we restored service to more than one million customers.

We certainly understand and empathize with the frustration and suffering of those who were without power and heat for a longer period.

This was an unprecedented storm and unusually difficult restoration for several reasons:


The size and the power:

Twice the size of Hurricane Irene
Widespread impact - 900 square miles
Incredibly strong winds - 90MPH

When the storm hit:

More than 1/3 of our transmission circuits, 1/2 of our sub transmission circuits and more than 3/4 of our distribution circuits were interrupted.
The Nor'easter the following week created even more damage and put temporary repairs at risk.

Customers impacted:

Twice the number of customers who were impacted by Hurricane Irene, which until now had the distinction of being the worst storm in PSE&G history
Almost three times the number of customers in the October 2011 snow storm

Restoration efforts:

Record number of trees impacted - 48,000 trees removed or trimmed (compared to 22,500 after Hurricane Irene)
Replaced/repaired over 2,400 utility poles, almost three times the number we replaced in the last two storms. (Thanks to pre-storm preparation, we never ran out of equipment to restore service.)
The record tree and pole damage slowed our ability to restore power in Union, Middlesex, Bergen and western Essex counties as we struggled to gain access to streets, and in some cases backyards to repair overhead lines.

The Storm Surge:

At a number of switching stations and substations located along the Hudson, Hackensack and Passaic rivers, as well as two switching stations located along the Arthur Kill, the storm surge brought a wall of water ranging from four to eight feet into the locations, damaging the equipment. Some of these stations had never been impacted by water damage in the 50 to 75 years that they existed. The work to restore those stations required painstaking, labor intensive drying and cleaning of equipment to get them back in service.

So maybe think twice about complaining about not having power for an extended period of time. 8-)

[JL8Jeff]

You could tell by the number of out of state utility workers that this was a serious restoration effort. I wonder how it compares to the freezing rain/ice storm from a couple of years ago that extended through NY, VT, NH and into Canada. Obviously those areas don't have the dense population like NJ/NY does, but those were some brutal conditions for the workers and people without power. I think that overall it was a pretty quick recovery, especially considering the snowstorm so soon afterwards.