Service Restored to 135,000 Jersey Central Power & Light Customers Affected by Early Season Snowstorm

95 Percent Expected to Be Restored by Midnight Thursday

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Oct 31, 2011, 02:47 ET

MORRISTOWN, N.J., Oct. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Crews from Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) and other FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE) utilities continue to restore service to JCP&L customers affected by the heavy, wet snow that hit its northern New Jersey service area this weekend. As of noon Monday, the company has restored service to more than 135,000 customers, with 235,000 still without power.

Based on current assessment information, the company expects more than 95 percent of the remaining customers to be restored by midnight Thursday, with full restoration expected by midnight Friday.

"We had a very productive meeting this morning with Governor Christie, members of the Board of Public Utilities, and other New Jersey utilities to discuss the damage from the snowstorm and when power will be restored," said JCP&L President Donald M. Lynch. "Based on the damage we are seeing on our system, midnight Thursday is when we should have the majority of our customers back in service, with the remaining customers restored by midnight Friday."

In addition, Lynch says the company is communicating closely with mayors and other local officials to keep them informed of estimated restoration times in their individual municipalities.

By the end of today about 3,000 line, support and forestry personnel will be involved in JCP&L's overall restoration effort. Crews from other FirstEnergy utilities in Ohio were prepositioned in the area and have been making repairs since the storm began. The company is working to secure additional outside utility crews, electrical contractors and tree contractors to assist with the restoration process.

For updated information on the company's restoration efforts, current outages, FirstEnergy's storm restoration process and tips for staying safe, go to www.firstenergycorp.com. JCP&L will also provide updates via Twitter on @JCP_L.

To report an outage, JCP&L customers should call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877), or 1-800-545-7738.

JCP&L serves 1.1 million customers in 13 New Jersey counties.

FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies comprise the nation's largest investor-owned electric system. Its diverse generating fleet features non-emitting nuclear, scrubbed baseload coal, natural gas, and pumped-storage hydro and other renewables, and has a total generating capacity of nearly 23,000 megawatts.

SOURCE FirstEnergy