Nor'easter Knocks Out Power In Toms River, On Barrier Island

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ — Electric service was out to more than 7,700 customers from Mantoloking to the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township on Wednesday night as powerful wind gusts from the nor'easter took down utility poles and power lines.

"We are experiencing power outages and are assessing damage," Jersey Central Power & Light said on its outage website. "We will provide estimated restoration times when they are available."

Emergency scanner discussions included several reports of utility poles and power lines down throughout the area.

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The time it takes to restore electricity will be dependent in part on the storm, as JCP&L has in the past said it cannot raise its bucket trucks for work on poles when the wind exceeds 40 mph for safety reasons.

The company brought in extra crews from Ohio to help with the repairs and restoration that will be needed following the storm, and its regular Jersey Shore line workers were told to be prepared to work 16-hour shifts through Friday.

Heavy rain and strong winds, with gusts of up to 60 mph, are expected to lash the Jersey Shore, and the wind was howling in the area Wednesday night.

"Those are the types of conditions that can topple trees into our facilities and cause outages," said Todd Meyers, a JCP&L spokesman, told Patch earlier Wednesday. "While it is too early to tell exactly where outages will occur and how long they might last, we are on the lookout for problems near the Shore."

If your power is out, report it. Reporting your outage helps JCP&L pinpoint damage and restore power more quickly. You can do this several ways:

• Report an outage online
• Call 888-LIGHTSS (888-544-4877)
• Report your outage via text message; get started by texting REG to 544487.(Message and data rates may apply.) More information about our text messaging, and related services can be found on our communication tools page.
• View/report power outages on our 24/7 Power Center maps
• If you have a communication disability, you can contact us through the appropriate text telephone (TTY/TDD) relay service.

With reporting by Carly Baldwin

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