Lets recount that, half of Fanwood/Scotch Plains just went down again.

The figure of 1,00 cannot be possible. The people in the Baywood, Mandalay Road, St.Lawrence , Shore Acres are alone account for more than 1,000 and still no power. When will the public be aware of the facts rather than the inuendoes provided by people not in the know. Would anyone believe that I have made a call to the utility company daily for the last week and the response is the same "power will be restored sometime this afternoon". Where is the accountability?

Silverton has no power yet either, from what the lying folks at JCP&L say there are 945 in my area alone without power. Chris, time for you to throw your weight around, they are lying through their teeth straight to your face. We did not even get flooded and they still will not turn us on!

I took a ride through Port Monmouth, where I once lived. Brainard Avenue near the Spy House, is devastated. So is the Belford fish market area. So is a large section of Keansburg. It is premature to say that recovery is largely concluded. These folks have a long way to go before approaching a new normal.

Talking to the power company workers from Ohio they said they could not believe how antiquated our power system is. Another reason NJ is the laughing stock of the country. Ever sine JCP&L was taken over by First Energy maintenance of the system is non-existent. We were and would much better served without First Energy.

From what I've been reading, these grids etc. are so old, it's only a matter of time before they go out again. Some are over 100 years old and they no longer even make the parts for them. Apparently, they can make these on poles that aren't made out of wood, and can make them withstand any weather. The way it is now, it's only a matter of time before this happens again.

BTW, I am a lifelong Democrat, and think Christie should become one too... he is far too intelligent to be an old bag of wind Republican! :)

We lost power during Irene for almost a week as well. JCP&L has to specially order parts for our substation since they were no longer made. Really? That's how old our substation is? How about upgrading our grids. Put the lines underground. It's unfathomable to me that in our day of advanced technology, a tree can take out power for a week. And how is it OK to know in advance that power will be out for 7-10 days before a storm comes? That right there tells you our system is way too fragile. I understand this storm was of catastrophic proportions, but this goes beyond Sandy - think back the last year. Irene, the Halloween snowstorm, and now Sandy. This is not a lineman issue. We know the JCP&L linemen work their butts off, and we have thousands of workers from out of state. This is a JCP&L CORPORATE issue and a failing and antiquated infrastructure. We pay way too much for inadequate service - and it's time to hold this company accountable.

Lines should be under ground. In the Georgetown Area, we lost power for 2 1/2 hours for one day. That sounds kinda successful to me. All should be rebuilt the same. It worked alot better than those above lines. I do not think this would work on the Island.

With all the profits, from all the years they did not upgrade their equipment, they should HAVE to stick their hands in their pockets and PAY to UPGRADE their old system or bring in a company that will. They should have to move into the future or be left behind, imho*

michele - The "Category" for this storm was pretty meaningless. A small Category 2 or Category 3 that comes ashore during low-tide likely has less impact than a monster Category 1 that comes ashore during high tide. Never mind the fact that this storm hit us east-to-west - something that seemed like an impossibility up here. A Cat 2 that hugs the coast may not have been anything nearly as bad as a direct hit from the east from a Cat 1.
That said, I do think 2 weeks without power in highly populated residential neighborhoods that didn't flood is indeed a bit extreme - but the storm itself was a bit extreme. I don't know what conclusions I can really draw from this in terms of how the power lines will withstand future storms. The power in my area had no problems during the blizzard a few years ago, so I think it can withstand rough weather.

Hey Gov., just read that the TWINKIES company is closing 3 of its bakeries!!! Don't worry, it shouldn't affect us in NJ..

Jcp&l has lied since the power went out and is lying on the outages on its' website. Silverton has over 900 without power but for all of Toms River was posted less than 500. Really? Can't believe the Governor is not aware of their lies.

THERE'S NO NORMAL IN "OUR NJ"...WHERE THE HECK IS HIS NJ??? WE HAVE TEACHERS & STUDENTS IN OUR SCHOOLS THAT HAVE NO HOMES...POWER FLICKERING IN HOMES, SCHOOLS, STORES TODAY!!! TRAFFIC LIGHTS THAT CAN'T STAY LIT...
SO AGAIN I ASK...WHERE IS HIS NJ?

Not down our end of Brick I can tell you. No power for weeks, just waiting for a cold snap to ruin the remains of my waterfront home. No gas, no electricity, no way to dry out my livingroom before mold takes over my 1.5 year home. Boy, NJ is back to normal, yeah right.

I live in Howell and have underground power lines. I lost power for 8 days because of Sandy and another 3 days due to the snowstorm. Underground lines are obviously not the solution. The whole infrastructure needs to be looked at and updated. The most frustrating part is one block away had power the whole storm...

Not having substations and switching stations at elevations and locations where they can flood would seem to be ridiculously obvious to anyone with half a brain cell.

I must thank those FEMA (or whoever it was) who was giving out free ice. In NYState, they were giving out DRY ICE, but not here in NJ. Anyway, though I threw out much in my freezers, ALOT I threw out, I was able to slowly defrost with that ice addition, and was surprised to see the chickens and pot roast cuts still fresh and not smelling one bit because I was adding and removing ice every day.

That ice really helped! Thank you so much for the ice! Have been cooking those defrosted cuts of meat etc. and then refreezing. I am sick of looking at it, but hey, at least I save some things.

This is by far one of the worst things to happen in our area (NJ and NY etc) in a long time. I learned a lot. I learned if this happens next time, COVER TV'S AND COMPUTERS with heavy warm blankets. The condensation ruined my TV! Now it is shot. Puter is OK though thank God. I learned to stock up on many more candle jars when they go on sale, get more battery operated radios (which we listened to non stop) and batteries for them. More 'miners cap' flashlights which leaves your hands free while you have light on your forehead. So many things I have learned. We were so cold we could see our breath! Awful!

I guess shores condo in monmouth beach is part of the 1000.

People need to understand Firstenergy isn"t about the rate payer its about the shareholder! They sold off all there generation in NJ except for the Yards Creek hydro plant which they would have sold except it half owned by PSE&G! The bought out Allegany Power and took control of all there generation ($$$$$ in pockets) In NJ they make their money on electric bills. They make no investments in the infrastructure , they don't hire , they don't care!

Wooops......

How about the Lacey Chief leaving in disgrace. Hope the TC gets Jim Knoeller in as an interim Director to straighten things out.

This is a GREAT Facebook page. It's full of information and proves that the economic impact of the new FEMA regulations and the willingness of the once great State of New Jersey and the municipalities that don't don't fight for their constituencies will destroy the shore..The ramifications will affect all citizens, not just those directly affected:

[Stop FEMA now | Facebook
www.facebook.com/StopFemaNow
facebook/StopFemaNow. Flood-elevation maps will destroy the Shore. www.app.com. Gov. Christie's adoption of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's ...]