Community Voices: 4 Outages in 6 Weeks

Michael Leblond is a Resident of Berkeley Heights

Dear Berkeley Heights Leaders, First Energy leaders and members of the NJBPU,

I’m tired of split the emails between different groups. Everyone gets the same email.

We almost made it ONE WEEK since the last power outage.  Almost. 
Four outages in six weeks.  This pattern doesn’t bode well for the coming summer.

I’m writing again because my home has experienced yet another outage, our fourth of 2026, and ninth in the past eighteen months.  My home has experienced more than fifty outages since I moved here in 2009.  Some of these outages are short, just a few minutes.  Some are a few hours, like today and Superbowl Sunday in 2023.  Others are even longer, June 26th, 2023 which was over eight hours.  A handful have been multiple days, forcing my family to leave our home.

After the last two outages, I left messages with our friends at JCPL.  The damaged poles I reported to JCPL in November 2025 remain unaddressed.  Verizon did contact me claiming they are working on those damaged poles.  

Perhaps you should try a website called Poweroutage.com.  You can see the updates from them below. This site would allow you to get updates on the frequency of power outages in Berkeley Heights.  The Citizen APP could also allow you to track the outages as well.  

Sincerely,
Michael Leblond

Submitted directly by the author; content reflects their own views

Editors Note: Mayor Devanney responded to the email and indicated she would reach out to JCP&L again.