Crime & Safety

More Than 96K Still Without Power in Monmouth

County remains hardest hit among JCP&L territories in New Jersey

While power is methodically being restored to Jersey Central Power and Light customers across New Jersey, Monmouth County remains the hardest hit by Hurricane Irene.

As of 12:40 p.m., power is still out for more than 482,000 customers across the state, with Monmouth reporting more than 96,000 outages. The Shore region remains the most affected, with more than 33,000 customers offline in Ocean County, as well. Outages number in the several thousand in most of the 12 counties JCP&L serve, although Morris County still struggles greatly, with almost 38,000 customers in the dark.

While outages are affecting a wide swath of Monmouth, many communities are faring better than others. For example, an estimated 6,080 customers in Middletown are still in the dark, compared to a scant 35 in Bradley Beach.

Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

MUNICIPALITY OUTAGES Middletown 6,080 Howell 4,881 Wall 3,768 Manasquan 3,131 Asbury Park 2,842 Neptune 2,599 Spring Lake Heights 2,589 Long Branch 1,703 Sea Girt 1,460 Belmar 1,451 Brielle 583 West Long Branch 35 Bradley Beach 35 Ocean Grove 6

JCP&L said crews are "working around the clock" as flooding, downed trees and debris were complicating restoration efforts.

Ron Morano, a JCP&L spokesperson, said Monday night customers would be restored by next week at the latest, although the majority should be back on the grid by this weekend.

Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We understand that our customers are upset because they're out of service. We ask them to please be patient with us. This is a process that takes time because the work needs to be done safely. We are working as hard as we can to return your service as quickly and safely as possible," Morano said.

To report an outage, call 888-544-4877.

Charlie LaPlaca contributed to this report.


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