A squirrel caused widespread power outages for more than 11,000 JCP&L customers in Monmouth County Wednesday morning.
According to FirstEnergy spokesman Todd Myers, the squirrel came into contact with electrical equipment at a substation in Howell Township, causing circuit breakers designed to protect sensitive equipment to trigger power outages in six neighborhoods.
The power outage caused some schools in the region to close and businesses to postpone their holiday breaks.
The Howell Point Swim Club had no internet access despite power being restored around 11 a.m.
“Right now we’re going back to old school. We’re taking handwritten checks. Right now it’s cash only,” said Tom O’Prandy, general manager of the Howell Point Swim Club. “For people who bring guests, we take their credit card information and once we’re back online, we’ll do it manually.”
Further down the street at Ego Salon and Spa in Howell, the entire place was without power until just before noon.
“Thank God we didn’t have to cancel. Everyone was really understanding,” said co-owner GianCarlo Bari. “They know there’s nothing we can do about it, so we were able to move it down and everything was fine.”
And across the street at Fruitta Bowls, Matt Lavarin experienced a similar story.
“I come to work and see that the emergency lights are on. I went to clock in and realized the screen was off,” Lavarin said. “I had to write a sign on the door to come back at a certain time. We also lost some customers.”
According to business owners, power outages are common in this area. This time, however, it was not due to the weather.
“We’ve had hurricanes, tornadoes and really crazy hailstorms. I don’t know what’s going on, but there are some interesting weather patterns moving through here,” Bari said. Knowing there’s potentially another system on the way, they’re just hoping for the best.
“In this business, we always have to adapt. And we always find ways, in life in general. There is always a surprise somewhere,” O’Prandy said.
