Long Branch Mayor Has Some Concerns About JCP&L

As two northern New Jersey municipalities are asking the state for permission to switch from Jersey Central Power & Light to another electricity provider, Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider is also expressing some concerns.

Last week, Robbinsville and Warren Township filed requests to the state Board of Public Utilities for permission to switch to Public Service Electric & Gas, while 14 other towns are also considering the same move, the Star Ledger reported Dec. 2. But both municipalities border the PSE&G grid and a portion of Robbinsville is already powered by the company, while Long Branch is miles away.

Mayor Schneider said the city has had some problems with JCP&L.

"They're not the most responsive and we all know it," Mayor Schneider said. "I understand that when you reach out to them it's a time when everybody else is doing the same thing, but they are still not always cooperative."

He said Long Branch Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Stanley Dziuba "needs to know how to get information out to the public," and that JCP&L is not always as accessible as they should be, especially during disasters such as Hurricane Irene.

"It's discouraging, because at that moment, you need a better response," he said. "The ability to communicate during a disaster is critical."

The Star Ledger also reported Dec. 2 that the BPU was looking into whether JCP&L earned $86 million more than it should have in 2010.

But a JCP&L spokesman, Ron Morano, said the company has implemented several suggestions it received from mayors and its customers across the state after the hurricane. Since the October snowstorm did not affect the Shore area, he said, Dempsey and Doherty did not get to experience the improved communications between the company, municipalities and their customers.

“We held daily conference calls with the mayors. We communicated with the mayors throughout the entire storm. In addition to the calls we set up a special webpage, communicated estimations of customers by county, municipality and location within municipality — all suggestions that came about from meetings following the hurricane,” Morano said.

And regarding the Star Ledger report that the BPU was looking into the company’s unexpected $86 million extra in 2010 profits, Morano matched word-for-word what he told the newspaper last week.

“We believe our electric rates are just and reasonable and the Rate Counsel’s request does not provide sufficient reason for the Board of Utilities to order JCP&L to file a base rate case at this time,” he said Tuesday.