Township Council Meeting — June 30, 2026

Headline

Berkeley Heights Council Presses JCP&L For Outage Details And Upgrade Timeline

Lead

At the June 30, 2026 Township Council meeting, JCP&L representatives discussed reliability upgrades, while council members and residents raised concerns about frequent outages and the lack of specific local information.

What Happened

The meeting opened with public notice and roll call. A Girl Scout Gold Award proclamation for Molly Alman was mentioned, but the transcript does not show it being read.

Most of the transcript focused on a JCP&L presentation by Bob Flynn and Gil Guerrero about the company’s Energize NJ infrastructure program. They described planned investments in distribution circuits, transmission, substations, smart meters, reclosers, trip savers, tree trimming, and stronger wire in heavily vegetated areas.

Council members repeatedly asked for Berkeley Heights-specific information. JCP&L said local upgrades are on its list, with many improvements described as having expected in-service dates in 2027 and 2028, but the company did not provide detailed circuit-by-circuit plans during the meeting.

Votes Or Decisions

No council vote, formal decision, or split vote was clear in the transcript.

Money, Land Use, Staffing, Contracts, Policies, Or Taxes

JCP&L said it originally filed with the Board of Public Utilities for about $930 million in infrastructure work, but was approved for about $212 million. The speaker said the customer bill impact was estimated at about 86 cents per month, compared with about $4.30 per month under the larger proposal.

No township land-use action, staffing change, contract award, tax action, or ordinance decision was clear in the transcript.

Public Comment Or Resident Concerns

Council members and residents raised concerns about repeated outages in Berkeley Heights. One speaker said their neighborhood had lost power five times since January.

Thomas Kle of Diamond Hill Road said even brief outages can be costly for electronics-heavy operations at Nokia Bell Labs, citing damage to test equipment and staff time needed to recover servers and network systems.

Another resident, identified in the transcript as Mike Leblon of 156 Clan Boulevard, said power reliability has been a long-running issue since he moved to town in 2009 and claimed the community averages two to three outages per month, with seven in June. The transcript cuts off during his remarks.

Accountability Questions / Conservative Read

Council’s main accountability concern was that JCP&L offered broad program details but not enough Berkeley Heights-specific data. Key follow-up questions are: which circuits and neighborhoods are scheduled for work, what will be done, when will it be completed, and how will residents know whether reliability improves?

JCP&L said the township does not typically receive reliability and outage reports, but representatives said they could analyze and share data if the township identifies areas of concern. Council should press for regular written reports, timelines, and measurable outage data before residents are asked to accept higher utility costs.

Source

June 30, 2026 Township Council Meeting transcript. Source URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTm0Z1a8D-c