Some In Berkeley Might Go A Week Without Power, JCP&L Says

BERKELEY, NJ — Those in Berkeley who still don't have power might need to wait a while. Jersey Central Power & Light estimates its Ocean County customers will regain electricity by 11:30 p.m. Tuesday — one week after Tropical Storm Isaias tore through and caused mass outages.

JCP&L has restored power for many of its Berkeley customers, but 1,614 still don't have power as of 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

Berkeley established a cooling center Thursday in Town Hall, open 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. People can escape the heat, charge phones and hydrate. Officials will screen everyone, take temperatures and require masks upon entry.

JCP&L is offering free water and ice to those without service. Local pickup locations include ShopRite in Bayville.

The storm took out power for more than 1.4 million New Jersey homes, according to state officials. About 977,000 still had no power Wednesday morning and might need to wait through the weekend for restoration, said Joseph Fiordaliso, president of the state Board of Public Utilities, during a news conference.

"Our hope is by late Friday night 80 percent of customers will be restored," Fiordaliso said. The hope of the BPU and power companies is the remainder will have their power restored by the end of the weekend.

Tropical Storm Isaias plowed across New Jersey from about 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, moving at 40 mph and packing sustained winds of up to 50 mph. There were multiple areas that recorded wind gusts of up to 75 mph. A gust of 109 mph was recorded on Long Beach Island, officials there said.

With reporting from Karen Wall/Patch