Power Outage Update (8/7/20)
JCP&L has provided information about customers on which Roads in Lebanon Township are scheduled
to have service restored by at least 11:00 pm today. The roads are:
Ravine Rd, Maple Lane, Trimmer Rd, Hollow Brook Rd, Red Mill Rd, Anthony Rd, Chipmunk Pass Rd and New Port Rd.
Sorry for those without power on other roads, but I will pass along any updates when available.
Mike Schmidt
Mayor
Power Outage Update (8/7/20)
JCP&L released its restoration plan for Lebanon Township, along with more details about the scope of the damage.
At 8:00 am yesterday, August 6, they exported 2,064 customers out of service (out of total 2,853 customers in
Lebanon Township), or 72% of the Township. At 12:45 pm yesterday the number out of service was reduced to 1,545 and
by 10:00 pm yesterday it was further reduced to 918 out of service.
Unfortunately, the progress is expected to slow as they work on smaller circuits. JCP&L released its
work plan for the number of customers to be restored over the next few days:
| Date |
Friday (August 7) |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
| # Restored |
149 |
127 |
72 |
45 |
13 |
So there will be more than a hundred residents out of service for several more days.
In a conference call yesterday, JCP&L provided information about the unusual damage from this tropical storm.
Apparently statewide there was more than usual damage to the feeder lines going into substations caused by large
trees falling on these high voltage lines. When a substation is turned off for repair, it takes an extended time
to turn it back on because they need to check the lines coming out of the substation for damage before powering them up.
This seems to be the reason much of state experienced a 48 hour delay to get power back on. For Lebanon Township,
JCP&L has provided the following detail about the storm damage (I do not have complete details of how the following
terms are defined):
Only 2 Poles were reported damaged in Lebanon Township, but 63 "locations" were damaged on 6 different
"circuits" in the Township. There were 12 locations requiring Tree Cutting.
From the restoration progress and forecast above, the priority of JCP&L is apparent. They start by working on
damage that will restore the highest number of customers in the shortest time. So unfortunately for the customers
that will be out of service for several more days, if they are on very small lines, they are further down the repair list.
In past storms, JCP&L has given examples of individual houses where the line pulls the meter off the wall, and those
single repairs go low on the list.
As of yesterday afternoon, JCP&L still had additional crews arriving from other states, and they said they
try to be conservative on their restoration forecasts, so there is some hope they can do better than the plan above.
Good luck to those who are still waiting for service. Anyone out of service should report to JCP&L at least
once a day to make sure the company knows about their outage.
Mike Schmidt
Mayor
Power Outage Update (8/6/20)
As of 8:30 this morning, JCP&L is reporting 2,064 customers in Lebanon Township out of service, still about
75% of residents. The company also announced a "Global Estimated Restoration Time" (ETR) of next Tuesday August 11.
Note that this is a Statewide restoration estimate. Our local JCP&L liaison tells me that crews will be working
today in the Sliker Road area. Many customers could be restored before Tuesday, although they are still working
through identifying specific issues and work plans.
They understand the frustration of no power and little information. As a reminder, water and ice are available
from area ShopRites free of charge, and residents can fill water containers at the Lebanon Township DPW building
at the corner of Newport and Anthony Roads as well as being the Police Station at the Municipal Building at 530
West Hill Road.
Mike Schmidt
Mayor
Tropical Storm Isaias Update (8/5/20)
With the storm past, our DPW and Police report that the Township infrastructure is in good shape,
with the exception of widespread power outages. JCP&L reports 2,055 customers in Lebanon Township
are without power this morning, which is about 75% of the Township. They are bringing in crews from
Ohio and other areas, but our liaison from JCP&L tells me to expect a staged repair process “over the next several days.”
For residents that would like to fill water containers, there are hose bibs available on the front of
the DPW Building at the corner of Anthony and Newport Roads, or behind the Police Department at the
Municipal Building at 530 West Hill Road.
JCP&L warns that there are many weakened trees and hanging branches that could cause new power outages,
and they urge everyone to stay away from limbs near wires or downed wires. Our DPW assists the JCP&L tree crews,
but they need to wait until JCP&L is on the scene. We will provide updates as available.
Mike Schmidt
Mayor