Butler Electric Desired By Other Towns Over JCP&L

While mayors and residents of many municipalities have been vocal about their displeasure with Jersey Central Power & Light's (JCP&L) response to Superstorm Sandy in the past several weeks, Butler Power & Light has received more praise than poor comments and some towns are hoping to even switch service to the utility.

According to Suburban Trends, Riverdale and Pequannock officials have made unofficial inquiries into whether it would be feasible to adopt Butler Electric utility service and drop JCP&L. But whether or not that would be allowed would be depend on the Board of Utilities and franchise agreements with the utility companies.

Read the full story from Suburban Trends here.

The Borough of Kinnelon, which is predominantly already serviced by Butler Electric, may also consider petitioning the board to have the borough's 73 JCP&L customers switched over to Butler Electric. Kinnelon Mayor Robert Collins criticized JCP&L, as other local mayors have, for poorly communicating with municipalities about when they were working and where. Collins also said he felt the small number of Kinnelon customers, when compared with the JCP&L customer base in other towns, was put on the back-burner while the power company worked first in areas where they could report restoration in higher numbers.

While the surrounding municipalities not currently serviced by Butler Electric seem to be admiring the work of the utility, borough officials have also heard praise from local residents, including receiving decorated cards of gratitude from Aaron Decker School students that hang at the Butler Borough Municipal Building.

Immediately following Sandy's landfall on Oct. 29, . However, power restoration for many parts of Kinnelon, Butler and Bloomingdale seemed to come faster than for nearby towns serviced by other companies.

Kathleen O'Neill Hanek wrote on the Tri-Boro Patch Facebook page she felt lucky to have her heat restored.

"Thank you to Butler Electric for doing this so quickly," she said.

Another resident, Katie Goddard, wrote "Absolutely love Butler Electric!"

What did you think of Butler Electric's storm response? Let us know in the comments below.