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Jersey Central Power & Light spent much of 2013 repairing its network and its image, both of which took a pounding after Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to the utility's 1.3 million customers, leaving some without service for up to two weeks. In photo above, a scene in Old Bridge on Oct. 30, 2012, a day after Sandy roared through.

(Star-Ledger file photo)

For Jersey Central Power & Light, 2013 did not even provide a calm after the storm.

The state’s second largest utility, whose equipment and reputation were badly battered by Hurricane Sandy in late 2012, spent the early months of this year completing repairs, then trying to mend its image.

Criticized for its slow response time in dealing with massive Sandy-related power failures, JCP&L announced a slew of changes.

It overhauled its communications system, hired a new president and additional field staff, and partnered with a union representing electrical workers to supplement the utility's own personnel during emergencies. It also revamped its website and launched a mobile application allowing customers to report power outages and receive outage information via text message.

Despite those efforts, New Jersey’s ratepayer advocate said it remains to be seen whether the utility is committed to investing in its network, whose vulnerabilities Sandy clearly exposed.

“What I would like to see is years of sustained work on its infrastructure,” said Stefanie Brand, director of the state Division of Rate Counsel, which advocates for consumers in utility rate cases. “The problems we saw after Hurricane Sandy didn’t start overnight and they’re not going to be cured overnight. It’s great to improve their communications but I also want to see that the underlying problem gets addressed over the long term.”

In the last dozen years, JCP&L says it has spent more than $2 billion in projects to enhance reliability in distribution and transmission systems, and last week announced it had completed work on a $200 million annual repair and improvement program.

Included in the annual repairs was work on 94 major circuits that serve more than 100,000 of the utility's 1.3 million customers in northern and central New Jersey.

Inspections also took place on 284 overhead and underground circuits and nearly 34,000 utility poles, with infrared scans of 400 distribution and sub-transmission lines.

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The company said it reconnected service to “tens of thousands of customers” in Monmouth and Ocean counties on Sandy-damaged homes and spent $25 million on tree trimming along 3,600 miles of electrical lines.

In New Jersey, the cost of a utility’s repair and investment work generally gets passed on to customers.

JCP&L president James Fakult called the work “infrastructure investments” designed to “enhance day-to-day service reliability now, along with maintaining our system’s capability to handle future load growth.”

But Brand said JCP&L, which is a subsidiary of Ohio-based First Energy, has been “sending an inordinate amount of money” to its parent company at the expense of New Jersey’s infrastructure. “I want to see that stopped,” she said.

JCP&L has denied that allegation. It is now in the middle of a case before the state Board of Public Utilities for its proposed $20 million rate hike. That followed a request by Brand’s office that the utility justify its repair expenses and how much it charges customers.

That followed a prior Rate Counsel request that the state investigate whether JCP&L returned a profit above its state-approved 8.5 percent.

The company also filed with the state to recover all of the $630 million it says it spent on damage repair from Sandy, Tropical Storm Irene, the November 2012 nor'easter and an October 2011 snowstorm.



"One of the criticisms following (Tropical Storm) Irene was that we never invested in our system," said JCP&L spokesman Ron Morano. "But we do it every year, and have been for years." Morano said the company will continue to invest in 2014, when it moves forward with several transmission projects.

RELATED COVERAGE

• Blasted for slow Sandy response, JCP&L announces communication upgrades

• JCP&L's new smart phone app aims to improve communication following Hurricane Sandy

• Criticized for storm response, JCP&L hires emergency preparedness manager

• JCP&L will spend $200 million to expand, strengthen existing infrastructure

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