By Berit Ollestad
Edward Pancoast lives near Akron, Ohio, and was planning to spend next week on a Florida beach with his family.
Now, it looks like he will be “vacationing” in Greater Morristown, repairing power lines felled by Hurricane Sandy.
“We knew it was gonna be big and that we’ll be here for awhile,” said Pancoast, a line supervisor for First Energy, the parent company of Jersey Central Power & Light. Even so, when his eight-man team got word last Friday, ahead of the storm, that it was heading to New Jersey for recovery duty, nobody could not have imagined what lay ahead.
“In my 33-and-a-half years of experience, I have never seen such massive destruction on such a large scale as you have here in New Jersey,” said Pancoast, who asked the public to be patient.
“The biggest challenge we are having is the sheer amount of trees and downed wires we are encountering, combined with the high number of conductors that have been damaged,” Pancoast said.
“I would just ask the public to be patient with us, because it’s going to be a long process . My guys are working seven days a week, putting 16 hour days in [6 am-10pm] to get the power restored to your communities. Everyone wants their power on now, but please realize that we may have to bypass one to benefit the whole. My crew was told to expect to be here for a minimum of two weeks. We will continue to send additional crews to replace existing crews every two weeks until the job is complete,” he said.
Each crew from First Energy is assigned a zone surrounding a power sub-station, in something called a “quarantine circuit process.”
JCP&L has told officials across the state that it may take seven- to 10 days for power to be restored. As of Thursday, Nov. 1, more than 830,000 Jersey Central customers remained in the dark across northern and central New Jersey. That included 74 percent of Morris County, 32 percent of Morristown, 59 percent of Morris Township and 65 percent of Morris Plains.
Jackie Ollestad contributed to this report.
Please keep the negativity to yourself. The people in NEW JERSEY have nothing left… Yevette, you have your home don’t you? And your vehicle? You can drive somewhere to get warm, they can’t!! Please don’t forget, many of these lineman are leaving their homes with children, wives, and parents. A few of these men are husbands of close friends of mine. APPRECIATE what they are doing and try to find a way that you can help too.
-thankful lineman’s wife-
And here an Cleveland we stretch on into day four without power because our linemen are in Jersey. A little better planning, please.
Tim –
Why did this happen? A hurricane.
Did this need to happen? Well, no, but there was a hurricane.
Why were the lines so vulnerable? Because there was a hurricane.
Third world country? https://rt.com/files/news/caribbean-sandy-storm-damage-647/rains-hurricane-sandy-croix.jpg
Think of it this way: Do we blame professional football players when they get hurt? Not usually. Usually, we blame the fact that a huge linebacker just took them out. Yes, they could have lifted more weights or done a few more sprints. But they are professionals, and we trust that they have done their best with what they have to work with to stay healthy.
So, yes, JCP&L could have been more prepared, but that’s ALWAYS true. Everyone can always be more prepared. Just like a professional football player can lift more weights or do a few more sprints.
But this isn’t a game. It was a natural disaster. We’re all trying our best, and we can only get stronger from this.
I know you’re angry. We all are. Please just think before you start placing blame.
-A Morristown resident who grew at the shore, who’s family still lives at the shore (thank God), and can see what we should be focusing on right now.
I am thankful for the hard work of the crews on the front line. But Why did this happen? Did this need to happen? Why were the lines so vulnerable? I think hearings into why JCP&L had so many problems should be held.
We should demand infrastructure better than a third world country.
JCP&L should be required to provide it or else they should loose the franchise to a provide who can.
We are so very appreciative of all your hard work & long hours. We have a wood stove and neighbors here have generators for charging stations. We have loads of patience and are thankful for everything we have and all we are given. By giving back to those who have far less than us here in Morris Township is the next step towards the true meaning of ‘Community’.