FirstEnergy Planning for Possible Icing Conditions in Northern New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania

JCP&L and Met-Ed Mobilizing Additional Resources Should Weather Cause Power Outages

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Feb 01, 2015, 05:20 ET

AKRON, Ohio, Feb. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is mobilizing additional resources to assist with service restoration efforts should icing conditions cause power outages in Jersey Central Power & Light's (JCP&L) northern New Jersey and Metropolitan Edison's (Met-Ed) eastern Pennsylvania service areas.

Current forecasts call for freezing rain and the potential for up to a quarter-inch of ice in JCP&L's northern New Jersey service areas and in the Easton and Stroudsburg areas of Met-Ed. Ice can build up on power lines and also has the potential to snap tree limbs, which can damage electrical equipment and cause service interruptions. In addition, ice creates treacherous driving conditions which can make it difficult for crews to access outage locations.

As a result of the forecasted weather, JCP&L has activated its Incident Command storm process. Line and forestry personnel from JCP&L's central New Jersey service areas and contractors will be deployed to the northern region tomorrow morning. Additional line personnel from other FirstEnergy utilities will be pre-staged in New Jersey this evening and ready to work in the morning, if needed.

Met-Ed will be moving line personnel from areas not expected to be affected by the icing conditions to the Easton and Stroudsburg areas this evening. If needed, other FirstEnergy utilities are prepared to move additional resources to the Met-Ed service area in the morning.

Customers who are without power are encouraged to call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) to report their outage or click the "Report Outage" link on www.firstenergycorp.com. In the event of severe weather, customers should immediately report downed wires to their utility or their local police or fire department. Customers should never go near a downed power line, even if they think it is no longer carrying electricity. Extra caution should be used in areas where downed lines are tangled in trees or other debris. Motorists are cautioned to treat intersections with inoperable traffic signals as four-way stops.

FirstEnergy customers also can subscribe to email and text message alert notifications to receive weather alerts in advance of major storms and updates on scheduled or extended power outages. Customers also can use two-way text messaging to report outages, request updates on restoration efforts, and make other inquiries about their electric accounts.

More information about these communications tools is available online at www.firstenergycorp.com/connect.

JCP&L is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. JCP&L serves 1.1 million New Jersey customers in the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren. Follow JCP&L on Twitter @JCP_L, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JCPandL or online at www.jcp-l.com.

Met-Ed serves approximately 560,000 customers in 15 Pennsylvania counties. Visit FirstEnergy on the web at www.firstenergycorp.com and follow Met-Ed on Twitter @Met Ed and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MetEdElectric.

FirstEnergy Corp. is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.