For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
There are still 980,277 people in New Jersey still without power after Tropical Storm rampaged through the state. Yesterday close to 1.4 million people in New Jersey were left in the dark. According to NJ.com, that’s more than 25%of the utility customers in the state and half of JCP&L’s 1.1 million customers affected. Affected customers include: 661,557 for JCP&L, 412,514 customers for PSE&G, and 545,450 customers for Atlantic City Electric.
“There are almost one million people that are still without power that could last for a couple of days. These constant power outages put people and communities at risk and damages our economy. Every time we have a storm, the power goes out. The damage and outages that this tropical storm has caused is a clear-cut example as to why we need to modernize and fix our gird. We need our utilities to undertake major updates in the wake of all the extreme weather events we have experienced grid,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We need to change how we’re doing business with utilities like JCP&L to protect our grid. Instead of building big power lines everywhere, we should be investing in better technology.”
PSE&G said that power outages could be extended in some areas. This is especially hard for people working from home and businesses trying to survive the pandemic.
“At a time when our economy is struggling, the loss of power hurts when people are working from home and restaurants are trying to make ends meet. The economic loss is a consequence of failing to do proper investments to New Jersey’s grid. A multi-day power outage will also impact the cleanup of toxic sites for pumping and treating and could risk vapor intrusion. Instead of building big power lines everywhere, we should be investing in better technology that is safer and reliable. This includes energy efficiency, microgrids, distributed energy, and renewable energy like solar. We also need to make updates to the grid so the next time a storm comes, we can used stored energy to prevent power outages," said Tittel. "Instead of replacing older and vulnerable lines we should be putting lines underground to prevent blackouts in the first place and move substations away from flood prone areas.”
Winds from the storm brough down utility poles and trees across the state, prompting lane closures on major highways.
“Every time a line goes down, the companies make more money fixing the line rather than redoing it underground where it would be safer. They get at least 14% return on emergency repairs and can charge overtime. They also get a 12% return on so-called resiliency projects. They won’t make this kind of money if the lines are underground which are only about an 8% profit. At one point, JCP&L wanted to spend $110 million on a massive transmission line they didn’t need; a project the court just struck down,” said Tittel. “When they say a project is for ‘Reliability’ it is because when they lie once, they re-lie again to convince us that it is needed. They’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars on resiliency projects but every time the wind blows, JCP&L stands for ‘Jesus Christ, Pray for Lights.’”
After Superstorm Sandy, JCP&L received close to $400 million to upgrade their lines against black-outs but evidently, this hasn’t worked. At one point, JCP&L wanted to spend $110 million on a massive transmission line they didn’t need; a project the court just struck down. PSEG spent $1.2 billion for their Energy Strong project but we’re not any stronger.
“People have 21st century homes with ultra-modern appliances including LED lights and even 3D televisions. Yet, we have a grid that goes back to the 19th century. It’s like having a Tesla but the only way to move it out of your garage is with a horse. Instead of building big power lines everywhere, we should be investing in better technology. This includes energy efficiency, microgrids, distributed generation, and renewable energy like solar. Microgrids especially help protect us against blackouts. We also need to make updates to the grid so the next time a storm comes, we can use stored energy to prevent power outages,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We need to be able to store renewable energy at all times, like at night or when the wind isn’t blowing. Energy storage is critical to move renewable energy forward and prevent blackouts and brownouts. We need to change how we’re doing business with utilities to protect our grid.”