Full Notification

Good afternoon. 

Please take a moment to read this message in its entirety, it is lengthy and includes a lot of important information.
 
The township officials are aware of the ongoing power outages throughout the municipality caused by the storm over the last few days. Please be assured that we are using all means we have available to us to persuade JCP&L to address the outages in the town. However, this storm has caused widespread outages; as of this writing, 27,552 customers are affected in Sussex County (which is 46% of the entire county). Byram has 911 customers currently without power, or 26% of the town. Resources are limited and many other municipalities in the county have much larger outages than we do. However, we are working hard to make sure we are not forgotten.
 
With that being said, there has been progress made. Forestry crews are showing up and removing trees which is required before a power company crew can show up and make repairs. JCP&L has given a “global restoration time” of Thursday, December 5^th, at 11:30 pm. This is the time and date that JCP&L estimates all outages will be resolved. Please be advised, however, that the power crews are in town making repairs as we write this. JCP&L has been hesitant to give out restoral times on a per-outage basis until they have a better handle on the types and extent of outages.
 
If you visit the outage map at http://outages.firstenergycorp.com/nj.html, you are able to drill down to each outage and click on it to give you an estimated restoral time. If it says, “Awaiting Dispatch” and a restoral time of 12/5/19 11:30p, that would mean that the crews have not even surveyed the damage as yet. If the crews have begun work, the time will change to more realistic restoration time.
 
Some important reminders:
 
First and foremost, under no circumstance should you touch any wires or trees. There is no guarantee that they are deenergized, and you can quite easily be injured or killed. Stay away from all wires, and assume they are live.
 
Next, make sure to call in all outages to JCP&L. You can do this online or by calling 888-544-4877. Do not assume that they know you are out of power, and don’t assume that your neighbor called it in. JCP&L only knows about outages that are called in.
 
If you decide to run your household on a generator, please make sure that the generator is connected properly and it not back feeding the utility network. Also, generators emit carbon monoxide, which is a colorless and odorless gas that is deadly. Make sure your generator is not close to your house, open door or window. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, or confusion. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, immediately exit your home and call 911 for assistance. Every time there is a storm in our town, the fire department responds to numerous calls of this nature.
 
The municipal building meeting room at 10 Mansfield Road (off of Lackawanna Drive) is open for resident use. The heat is on, the power is working, and public Wi-Fi Internet is enabled. It will be open twenty-four hours per day until it is no longer needed.
 
Last but not least: If you have not already, please sign up for NIXLE. This is the way that the township keeps residents updated in real time about emergencies and township operations. To sign up, text the word BYRAM to 888777 and follow the directions.
 
Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Of course, if you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1. If you need assistance in a non-life-threatening situation, call the Byram Police at 973-347-4008. We are all here to serve you in your time of need.
  
Alex Rubenstein, Mayor
The Township of Byram