TO THE EDITOR: It’s early October, but the Democrat candidates for Bedminster Township Committee have already gone negative.
With nothing constructive to offer, they’ve chosen a well-worn path that many federal and state political races invariably and unfortunately devolve into. I suspect Bedminster voters know better, and regardless of their political affiliation, prefer actual performance over performance art.
Their latest campaign literature attacks the incumbent Republicans, Mayor Larry Jacobs and Committeewoman Renee Mareski, for Bedminster’s power problems and encourages voters to elect leaders “willing to stand up to JCP&L (Jersey Central Power & Light).”
Interestingly enough, at our Township Committee meeting on Sept. 16, we hosted JCP&L for a detailed review and Q&A session. While the committee and residents peppered the utility with comments and questions for over two hours, neither Democratic candidate mustered the courage to utter a single word.
Rather than be silent, the Township Committee has taken deliberate action over the past several years to address the issue of persistent outages. We compelled JCP&L to inspect its local infrastructure and install new transformers and switches to replace aging and rusted units. We pushed to have local switching more widely deployed (look no further than Hills Drive), so that power can be redirected from a failed circuit to an active one.
We won a major policy dispute with JCP&L, forcing them to maintain the laterals (the connections between transformers and meter banks), as opposed to burdening the Hills Homeowners Associations with this ongoing expense. We advocated for the deployment of additional trip-saver devices, so that circuit faults don’t become extended outages (when the lights flicker but don’t go out for good, that’s what happening). I’ve even personally testified in front of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to encourage additional investment in proactive measures like tree trimming, so that outages can be prevented instead of minimized.
But investment is the key word. Bedminster Township does not own the infrastructure that delivers our electricity. Rather, it is owned and maintained by JCP&L, which in 2001 became a subsidiary of Ohio-based First Energy. I would argue that since this time, the parent company has not sufficiently invested in JCP&L’s physical plant or operations, which has led to the subpar performance we have all witnessed. As a multibillion-dollar private entity, First Energy has, at least historically, chosen to put profit ahead of customer service.
This problem is not limited to Bedminster but is rampant across all Somerset Hills towns, and in fact, extends to many of the areas that are serviced by JCP&L throughout New Jersey. Governor Phil Murphy has repeatedly slammed the utility for their poor performance and publicly decried their response to major weather events across the state.
Earlier this year, Mayor Jacobs sent a letter to the BPU demanding that JCP&L make the infrastructure investments necessary to improve reliability and resiliency. In 2024 alone, over $2.5 million has been allocated to two of Bedminster’s most problematic circuits and substations to improve uptime. As JCP&L deploys its circuit “loop scheme” architecture, which provides the ability to isolate faults and route around them, we should begin to see significant improvements.
This is critically important for circuits that traverse heavily wooded areas or run along the sides of highways, which are susceptible to downed poles due to motor vehicle accidents. In Bedminster, we certainly have both.
But this is not a one and done proposition. These investments must continue to be made by JCP&L, particularly against the backdrop of increased demand and more frequent storms.
As Mom used to say, the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and by holding public hearings and amplifying the concerns of our residents, the Bedminster Township Committee has certainly gotten the attention of JCP&L. Our job now is to continue to advocate that JCP&L put its money where its mission statement is – “making customers’ lives brighter.”
As the Township Committee utility liaison, and at the risk of being TL,DR (Too Long, Didn’t Read), I wanted to provide some insight into why these problems are occurring, and what’s being done to address them. There are no silver bullets or magic wands, and like most things in life, details matter. Talk is cheap, and anyone proclaiming their solution is to simply “hold JCP&L responsible” has no understanding of the underlying issues and therefore little chance of success.
But don’t take my word for it. Ask the candidates, both Republican and Democrat, what their plans are when they coming knocking at your door this campaign season. As a voter, you have a right to know where your candidates stand on all the issues impacting our local community. If you hear buzzwords like “transparency” and “accountability,” rest assured you’re playing political bingo with nonserious actors.
Public service calls for those willing to put in the time and do the work. If you love living in Bedminster, I strongly encourage you to vote for the team that consistently has the answers and delivers strong results.
Please join me in voting on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to re-elect Mayor Larry Jacobs and Committeewoman Renee Mareski to the Bedminster Township Committee.
R. COLIN HICKEY
Desiree Court
Bedminster Township
Editor’s note: The writer is a Bedminster Township Committeeman. Jacobs and Mareski are being challenged by Democrats Lawrence McShane of Wendover Court and Julia O’Brien of Stevens Court. This Letter to the Editor originally appeared in The Bernardsville News.