Community Voices: Resident Urges Council to Act as JCP&L Faces State Scrutiny

Michael Leblond is a resident of Berkeley Heights, the following is an email he sent to the Berkeley Heights Town Council on power outages.

9/9/25

Dear Mayor Devanney and members of the Town Council,

I am writing to express my growing concern regarding the frequent power outages in our community and their negative impact on daily life. As a fifteen year resident of Berkeley Heights, I believe it is essential that our local government addresses the ongoing power issues to improve the quality of life for all residents, business owners and students.

Over the past decade, power outages have become increasingly common in our area, often lasting for hours or even days. These disruptions continue to cause significant inconvenience to families, businesses, and essential services. Many households are left without heating or cooling during extreme weather, which can be especially dangerous for the elderly, children, and those with medical needs. Just last week, part of our school system was forced to close early, denying our students their education and our remaining schools were left without internet access for most of the day due to power issues.

If this text sounds familiar, it should.  These first two paragraphs are copied straight from my previous emails sent to all of you on March 11th, 2025 and May 19th, 2025.  Sadly, only two member of our council bothered to respond to either letters.  No action has been taken, no change in reliability.  I asked about these issues at a town meeting in August.  No reply at that meeting either.

While our town leadership does nothing to deal with this endless problem, at least the NJBPU did something.  I suggest you review this article and state complaints and consider getting involved with this problem.

NJ Regulators Call Out JCP&L After Three Years of Declining Reliability

JCPL Reliability Levels-Letter

Sincerely,
Michael Leblond

Submitted directly by the author; content reflects their own views.

Editor’s Note: The NJBPU granted JCP&L a one-month extension to respond to the 08/25 order citing concerns on their ability to meet minimum reliability standards. They have until 10/10/2025 to file its answer. From there, the Board will decide whether penalties should be imposed. Link

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