Berkeley Heights Urges Residents to Comment on New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Review of July Storm Outages

Berkeley Heights officials are urging residents who lost power during the July Fourth weekend storms and subsequent days to submit comments to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities as part of the agency's review of how electric utilities responded to widespread outages.

The BPU announced the proceeding on July 15 after receiving numerous inquiries from customers and local officials about electric distribution companies' response to the July heat wave and severe storms. According to the Board, many residents experienced prolonged outages during dangerously high temperatures, lengthy estimated restoration times, inadequate communication with local officials, and concerns about whether utilities had sufficient restoration resources.

Residents can submit comments through the BPU's online docket by clicking the "Post Comment" button on the agency's website. Comments may also be emailed to Board.Secretary@BPU.NJ.gov and should reference Docket No. EO26070387.

State regulations require each electric utility to submit a comprehensive post-event report within 20 days of a major outage event. BPU staff will review those reports along with public comments to determine whether utilities met performance expectations and whether further regulatory action is warranted.

The public comment proceeding is separate from the Board's ongoing Order to Show Cause case against Jersey Central Power & Light, which was initiated in August 2025 after the utility failed to meet the Board's minimum reliability standards in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The Board set August 12 as the deadline for any person or entity seeking to intervene in the Order to Show Cause proceeding by filing a motion referencing Docket No. EO25070453.

Berkeley Heights officials said the township is preparing its own comments detailing its experience with JCP&L during the recent storms. Township officials described difficulty obtaining clear and timely information from the utility, stating they could not obtain reliable daily assignments showing how many crews would be working in Berkeley Heights or where crews would be deployed.

This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy against official sources.

Produced with AI assistance and reviewed against source records.