Outrage Over Outages Continues

According to recent reports, there are still over 120,000 people in New Jersey without power. Yesterday there were more than 300,000. There are still people out of power from the last storm. The winter storms from the last few weeks have left too many downed power lines in its wake. The people of our state continue to pay rate increases yet see the same problems. We have communities that have no electricity, heat, or even water. This puts citizens in danger and hurts our economy. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“People have a right to be outraged over these power outages. These utilities have sent over $2 billion of their money since Hurricane Sandy to supposedly make the grid more resilient. Every time we get a wind storm, snow storm, or even heavy rain, the grid goes out. Yet, the utility companies have made millions in profit to restore power and even more for so-called projects to fix the grid. We agree with Governor Murphy that there needs to be an independent audit and investigation, not by the BPU, into how they spent this all this money.  Despite all the talk and money supposedly spend on upgrades, every time we have a storm the grid seems to fail.

“Instead of making the grid more resilient, these companies make money by fixing the same problems repeatedly. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. This shows that the grid is vulnerable not only to the storm, but to failed policies by the utilities. These constant power outages put people and communities at risk and damages our economy. Under Christie, BPU was basically the ‘Board of Promoting Utilities.’ They were a rubberstamp for the utilities to do whatever they wanted. Here we are once more after a storm with hundreds of thousands without power.

“PSEG spent $1.2 billion for their Energy Strong project but we’re not any stronger. Now they want a $3 billion subsidy for their nuclear plants that don’t need funding. JCP&L waned to spend $110 million on a massive transmission line they didn’t need; a project the court just struck down. Meanwhile, their customers tens of thousands have no power. When they say a project is for ‘Reliability’ it is because when they lie once, they re-lie again to convince us that it is needed. They’ve spend hundreds of millions of dollars on resiliency projects but every time the wind blows, JCP&L stands for ‘Jesus Christ, Pray for Lights.’

“We need our utilities to undertake major updates like in the wake of all the extreme weather events we have experienced, but to fund them responsibly. This should include replacing older and vulnerable lines and putting lines underground to prevent blackouts in the first place. Some of these lines fall down every year. Every time a line goes down, the companies make more money fixing the line rather than redoing it underground where it would be safer. They get at least 14% return on emergency repairs and can charge overtime. They also get a 12% return on so-called resiliency projects. They won’t make this kind of money if the lines are underground which are only about an 8% profit. The utilities failed to protect the power lines and electrical infrastructure in the first place and are now rebuilding key infrastructure in the same vulnerable areas.

“These companies have failed to do anything to make the grid more resilient and prevent brown outs and black outs. These companies keep building more large power lines while neglecting the smaller lines. Enhancement and reliability projects that cut down trees don’t do anything to strengthen the grid. They make more money fixing the damage on utility poles that get knocked down by storms. It would be better to bury lines in these areas but then the companies wouldn’t make as much money that way. The greed of the utility companies should not overshadow the needs and safety of the people of New Jersey.

“People have 21^st century homes with ultra-modern appliances including LED lights and even 3D televisions. Yet, we have a grid that goes back to the 19^th century. It’s like having a Tesla but the only way to move it out of your garage is with a horse. Instead of building big power lines everywhere, we should be investing in better technology. This includes energy efficiency, microgrids, distributed generation, and renewable energy like solar. Microgrids especially help protect us against blackouts. We also need to make updates to the grid so the next time a storm comes, we can use stored energy to prevent power outages. We need to be able to store renewable energy at all times, like at night or when the wind isn’t blowing. Energy storage is critical to move renewable energy forward and prevent blackouts and brownouts. We need to change how we’re doing business with utilities to protect our grid.