By Senator Declan O’Scanlon

Senator Declan O’Scanlon
For those who didn’t lose power, or see the fury of Monday night’s storm, be thankful. Your lives went on like a normal summer day with a thunderstorm in the background. For those who were in the micro-bursts…it was the scariest thing many have seen since Sandy..and more than many of us have ever seen. It lasted 20 minutes through the area…but left more immediate wind devastation than Sandy. Sandy spent hours piling water into our Bayshore and bays and oceanfront. This unnamed…moment…tore down trees and utility poles and the wires near, or attached to, them. And it was block-by-block, neighborhood by neighborhood. Which made it even harder on those without power. Many neighbors had no inconvenience at all. I can say now, it was a miracle no one was seriously injured or killed. For those that didn’t see it, trust me, this isn’t hyperbole.
In the end over 200,000 people had no power. Trees were down. JCP&L on the scramble, tested again. By Thursday night, all but just over 200 customers in Monmouth County had their power restored.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: July 26th, 2019 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Declan O'Scanlon, JCP&L, Monmouth County News, New Jersey | Tags: JCP&L, July 2019 Storm, Micro-burst, Monmouth County News, Power Outages, Senator Declan O'Scanlon, Summer storm damage | 4 Comments »
JCP&L announced that they are providing free water and ice to their customers who are without power due to weather conditions at the following Shop Rite stores in Monmouth County:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: July 23rd, 2018 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: JCP&L, Monmouth County News | Tags: JCP&L, Monmouth County News, Power Outagages, Water and Ice | Comments Off on JCP&L providing water and ice to customers without power

RAGE leaders, in Trenton, celebrate the BPU’s decision to nix JCPL’s Monmouth Monster Power Line Project
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities unanimously denied Jersey Central Power and Light’s ‘Monmouth Reliability Project,’ according to Hazlet Deputy Mayor Sue Kiley who is in Trenton for the BPU meeting.
“This is a great victory for all of the grassroots activists of RAGE (Residents Against Giant Electric), and all of the government officials who fought together through a complex and arduous legal process to produce the right result for Monmouth County residents who live along NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line,” Kiley said. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: June 22nd, 2018 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: JCP&L, Monmouth County News, New Jersey, News | Tags: Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso, Board of Public Utilities, BPU, Congressman Chris Smith, JCP&L, Judy Musa, Kin Gee, Lisa Walsh, Monmouth County News, Monmouth Reliability Project, Monster Power Lines, New Jersey Board of Public Utlities, OAL Judge Gail Cookson, R.A.G.E., Rachel Kanapka, RAGE, Residents Against Giant Electric, Senator Declan O'Scanlon, Sue Kiley, Tara Corcoran-Clark, Teri Vilardi | Comments Off on BPU unanimously rejects JCP&L’s Monster Lines project
By Middletown Township Committeeman Tony Fiore

Tony Fiore
On March 29th, thousands of residents and local elected officials from Monmouth County will converge upon the Collins Arena at Brookdale to speak against the proposed Monmouth County Reliability Project as proposed by First Energy and its subsidiary JCP&L. This additional hearing called for by Office of Administrative Law Judge Gail Cookson, follows a meeting held on January 25th at Middletown High School North where thousands attended and many were turned away. As an elected official in Middletown who will not have the opportunity to speak at this meeting per the Judge’s request, I will not remain silent with the question I would have asked Judge Cookson: What’s the point of this hearing?
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: March 19th, 2017 | Author: admin | Filed under: JCP&L, Middletown, Monmouth County News, Tony Fiore | Tags: First Energy, JCP&L, Middletown, Monmouth County News, Monmouth Reliability Project, OAL Judge Gail Cookson, Office of Administrative Law, RAGE, Tony Fiore | 7 Comments »

photo via JCP&L
Jersey Central Power and Light, the electric utility that services Monmouth County, announced today that they have expanded an environmental program to help protect New Jersey’s threatened ospreys.
The company is surveying their poles and other equipment to determine where osprey are nesting—or have given indication of future nesting–and then building new nesting platforms where the birds will not be in danger due to the proximity to electrical equipment. Specialized equipment is installed to divert and discourage ospreys from nesting in potentially hazardous locations.
Two osprey nests within JCP&L’s Monmouth and Ocean service territories, one in Union Beach and another in Brick, were relocated in 2016.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: December 27th, 2016 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: JCP&L, Monmouth County News | Tags: JCP&L, Jersey Central Power & Light, Monmouth Beach, Ocean Township, Oceanport, Osprey, Spring Lake Heights, Union Beach | 4 Comments »

Congressman Chris Smith
NEWARK, N.J.—Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) testified today before the New Jersey Transit Corporation Board of Directors in an effort to convince the agency to reject the Jersey Central Power & Light Co (JCP&L) application to utilize the transit agency’s right-of-way for the proposed “Monmouth County Reliability Project.” JCP&L has proposed the 10-mile-long transmission line be placed through residential neighborhoods along NJT’s North Jersey Coast line, creating an undue burden for large numbers of people in five Monmouth County municipalities.
“Some may argue that there is little or no adverse health link to exposure to the electromagnetic fields created by these high-voltage lines, and may produce select studies that suggest that,” said Smith, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on global health in his expert testimony. “But there is statistically relevant evidence–including studies–that suggest otherwise.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: October 13th, 2016 | Author: admin | Filed under: Chris Smith, JCP&L, Monmouth County News | Tags: Chris Smith, Congressman Chris Smith, JCP&L, Monmouth County News, Monmouth Reliability Project, New Jersey Board of Public Utlities, Press Release, RAGE | 3 Comments »
Senators Joe Kyrillos and Jennifer Beck announced this morning that they have introduced three resolutions in State Senate in opposition to the JCP&L project known as the Monmouth Reliability Project.
The project would drive a 230-kV transmission line on 140-foot-tall monopole towers on a nearly 10-mile path from Aberdeen to Red Bank, cutting through Hazlet, Holmdel, Middletown and across the Navesink River with sight exposure to Fair Haven and Rumson.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: September 15th, 2016 | Author: admin | Filed under: JCP&L, Jennifer Beck, Joe Kyrillos, Monmouth County News | Tags: JCP&L, Monmouth County News, Monmouth Reliability Project, RAGE, Sen Jennifer Beck, Sen Joe Kyrillos | 4 Comments »
By Tony Fiore, Middletown Deputy Mayor
The recent filing of the proposed JCP&L Monmouth County Reliability Project should serve as a wake-up call to all taxpayers in the state of New Jersey. The proposed 10 mile project with upwards of 200 foot monopoles to be installed on New Jersey Transit right-of way, will have a negative impact on the property values of all adjoining properties and potentially, properties within the line of site. The impact alone in Middletown could be upwards of $1.5 million in lost value. However, don’t despair taxpayers of Middletown, Holmdel, Hazlet, Aberdeen and Red Bank, according to their BPU filing, JCP&L will be making a $9.8 million payment towards the local municipalities through Energy Receipts taxes.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: August 15th, 2016 | Author: admin | Filed under: JCP&L, Middletown, Monmouth County News, Opinion, Tony Fiore | Tags: Energy receipts tax, JCP&L, Middletown, Monmouth County News, Monmouth County Reliability Project, NJ State Budget, OpEd, Opinion, RAGE, Tony Fiore | 4 Comments »

Jersey Central Power & Light is still trying to win regulatory approval to spin off its transmission assets into a separate company. In an amended petition, the state’s second-largest electric utility is slightly modifying a previous proposal rejected earlier this year by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. In denying the spin-off, the board balked…
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: July 27th, 2016 | Author: admin | Filed under: JCP&L, Monmouth County News, New Jersey | Tags: Eminent Domain, JCP&L, JCP&L spinoff, Jersey Central Power & Light, MAIT, Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission, Monmouth County News, New Jersey, New Jersey Board of Public Utlities | 2 Comments »
By Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone
It’s finally here …summer has returned! I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather we have been having lately, and enjoying all that our beautiful Monmouth County has to offer – beaches, parks, lakes, rivers, boardwalks, lighthouses, museums, theaters, historical sites, restaurants and much more. Our tourist season is in full swing, and according to early estimates, we are paced to match or exceed last year’s numbers, providing economic stability here in our region.
Speaking of tourist season, I am happy to report that the dredging of the Shark River is set to restart in the next few weeks, getting us closer to increasing the recreational side of the Shark River corridor as well as restoring the channels for our commercial fishing industry. As you may know, the dredging had started late last fall and was halted on January 1, 2016, due to state regulations in place to protect spawning and the early life stages of winter flounder and anadromous fish. The dredging project is moving along nicely due to a coalition of State, County and local leaders that effectively advocated for the project, including Senator Jen Beck, Committeeman Randy Bishop, County of Monmouth, Board of Chosen Freeholders, New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJ DOT) Office of Maritime Resources, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP), and the governing bodies of the participating municipalities including Neptune City, Neptune, Belmar, and Wall.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: June 28th, 2016 | Author: admin | Filed under: JCP&L, Monmouth County News, Shark River, Tom Arnone | Tags: Freeholder Director Tom Arnone, JCP&L, Monmouth County News, Shark River Dredging, The Arnone Report | 1 Comment »