Gov. Christie calls for stiffer penalties for utilities in wake of Irene

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Utilities that drop the ball should pay for their mistakes. That was the message on Wednesday from Gov. Chris Christie, who wants a law to raise daily penalties from $100 to $25,000.

The governor’s remarks were triggered by release of a report scrutinizing failures by utilitiesĀ  after last year’s Tropical Storm Irene and October Nor’easter, storms that left thousands in Greater Morristown, and millions across the state, in the dark for days.

“While those storms brought out the real professionalism of some of the employees of the utilities … they also exposed the vulnerabilities of our utility infrastructure, and avoidable mistakes,” Gov. Christie said in The Star-Ledger.

A consultant’s report commissioned by the state Board of Public Utilities outlined dozens of recommended improvements.

Some of those recommendations already have been implemented, a spokesman for Jersey Central Power & Light told the paper. At public hearings, JCP&L was the subject of withering criticism — much of it centered upon its inability to communicate accurate updates to the public.

MORE COVERAGE OF TROPICAL STORM IRENE

MORE COVERAGE OF THE 2011 HALLOWEEN NOR’EASTERĀ 

Tropical Storm Irene deposited this tree onto a car in Morristown. Mayor Tim Dougherty is warning residents that more trees could topple as rain oversaturates the ground. Photo by Berit Ollestad
Tropical Storm Irene deposited this tree onto a car in Morristown last summer. Photo by Berit Ollestad

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