Butler Electric Not Looking to Expand to Neighboring Towns

While many towns have expressed interest in picking up the utility's service, franchise agreements would prevent expansion.

Other towns may want Butler Power & Light service, but they can't have it. At least not right now. When West Milford officials expressed interest in switching service to the utility, also known as Butler Electric, Township Attorney Fred Semrau said the service provider was not interested, according to The Record. The Record reported that inquiries made by Pequannock, West Milford and Riverdale about switching over to Butler Electric from JCP&L and Orange & Rockland Electric Company would be prevented by needed infrastructure improvements and franchise agreements. Read the full story from the The Record here. Kinnelon, Butler and Bloomingdale are primarily serviced by Butler Electric, with the exception of 73 Kinnelon customers whose homes …

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Butler Electric Desired By Other Towns Over JCP&L

Citing poor storm response by JCP&L, some municipalities are discussing how to acquire Butler Power & Light service.

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 …

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9:10 pm on Wednesday, November 28, 2012

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Butler Power & Light Thanked By Community

Borough receives cards, letters from grateful residents and students.

The Borough of Butler received many cards and letters of gratitude from residents and students in the tri-boro thankful for the work of Butler Power & Light in restoring power after Tropical Storm Sandy. "This is a sampling of what has been received by the Borough of Butler on behalf of the Electric and DPW storm response," Borough Clerk Mary O'Keefe said. The cards pictured above were sent to the borough by Aaron Decker School students.

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$4K Worth of Copper Stolen From Downed Wires

Police caution residents that wires may be live.

Kinnelon police are investigating the apparent theft of more than 1,400 feet of copper wire that was stolen from downed wires in borough roads. The copper was valued at approximately $4,000. Lt. John Schwartz said the police department was contacted by Butler Borough Administrator Jim Lampmann on behalf of the Butler Electric Department. Lampman said that the electric workers found that between noon on Nov. 3 and 8 a.m. on Nov. 5, the copper was taken. The missing copper was noticed in the area of Round Hill Road, Sawmill Road, Lakeside Trail and Ski Trail. Schwartz said the copper wiring was needed as part of the electric function. "They did have to replace it, but didn't indicate it should add to the repair efforts," Schwartz said. In …

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Power Restored to 99 Percent of Butler

Mayor, administrator thank borough workers at Monday night's council meeting.

The electricity in Butler is “99 percent” up and running, according to Mayor Robert Alviene. The announcement came a week after Tropical Storm Sandy caused a JCP&L transmission line to fail on Oct. 29, leaving all Butler Electric customers without power for days. Butler Borough Administrator James Lampmann said during the borough’s council meeting Tuesday night that most of the area, with the exception of a few properties in Smoke Rise in Kinnelon, had been restored. “We have some house services that have been turned off and are waiting for electricians to come back before we can reconnect,” Lampmann said. After sitting in on a conference call with the Morris County Office of Emergency Management earlier in the day, Lampmann learned that …

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Some Power Restored in Tri-Boro

Police warn residents to be cautious of live, energized wires.

As Stop & Shop was down to just two checkout lanes and empty aisles dimly lit seemed to be a theme, power kicked back on around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, with employees rejoicing and dropping items to see if it was also restored at their own homes. For some of them, it was as Butler Electric announced that all lines had been renegergized and some residents in Kinnelon, Butler and Bloomingdale would have power restored within minutes. Both Bloomingdale and Butler Main Streets were lit with street lamps and business signs and some residents reported power restoration near Kiel Avenue. "Butler Power and Light’s sub-station energy has been restored. Power will be restored systematically within all power grids," the electric company said in a Nixle …

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Proposed Butler Budget Calls for $78 Tax Increase

Council concerned that state keeps most of the utility receipt taxes collected by the local electric company.

The Butler Council introduced a $10.48 million 2012 budget Tuesday that calls for a $78 property tax increase on the average assessed home. Council President Edwin Vath said the budget was affected by the recent bad economy as the council saw a decrease in revenue from construction permits, less return on investments and an increase in debt service. He said the budget’s tax levy is $34,312 below the state-mandated 2 percent cap. The 2012 budget is supported by a tax levy of $6.3 million, which raised the tax rate from 80.7 cents per $100 of assessed value  to 84 cents. The borough's average home assessment is $252,000, Vath said. The borough’s 2012 water utility budget is estimated at $1.89 million and electric budget was estimated at $28 …

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UPDATE: Snow Routes in Effect in Kinnelon Tuesday

Six storm-related accidents reported in Butler Saturday.

Snow routes will be in effect for Kinnelon school buses Tuesday, but school will be open despite many residents still being without power. Smoke Rise residents will be picked up at the Smoke Rise Inn. Several Smoke of Rise roads remained closed Monday with trees down and down wires on roadways as electric crews continued to work toward restoring power across the tri-boro. Kinnelon Police Lt. John Schwartz said trees caused damage throughout the borough, including to borough homes, and several officers were forced to cut trees when not responding to calls. "There's just a tremendous, tremendous amount of trees down," he said. The down trees have also caused issues for residents who live on Kinnelon Road past where the road collapsed, as a …

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Lake Community President Thanks Butler Electric Company

Lake Iosco president praises Butler Power & Light for hard work during Hurricane Irene.