At a recent forum, officials in northern New Jersey and members of the public discussed concerns about response efforts after Nor’easter storms in March left residents without power for as many as 10 consecutive days. Several elected officials pointed out communication inefficiencies from Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L), reports the New Jersey Herald. One mayor noted how frustrating it was to see utility trucks lined up in a lot because they had not yet been deployed.

Three major nor’easter storms hit New Jersey over a few weeks in March. After the second storm, a release from JCP&L noted that more than 500,000 of its customers lost power. 

"A small army of utility workers has been working safely around the clock in some very challenging conditions to restore service to our customers affected by the back-to-back damaging winter storms," Jim Fakult, president of JCP&L, said in mid-March after the second storm. At the time, the utility had already replaced 51 miles of more and more than 750 poles and cleared trees at more than 5,400 locations.