COLLEGE HILL RESIDENTS PROTEST POWER OUTAGES

Residents of College Hill have been suffering from power outages and blackouts for years, more than most in town.
 
Specifically, a grid that serves the northern portions of Yale Street, Bowdoin, and Oberlin near Tuscan has seen at least four outages since the beginning of the summer, several with no cause.

Residents began taking action this week, reaching out to the township and PSE&G complaint centers demanding action.

"This is has been a frustrating situation," Yale Street resident Michael Lehrer, who is leading the protests, said. "In our seven years on this street, we've had numerous outages per year, including two over the past 10 days that were not a direct result of weather. I speak for all my neighbors when I say that we've had enough."

Phone complaints to the township and the utility initially found each blaming the other, of course. But they vow not to give up.

"Each outage has the same pattern, the houses in close proximity to Tuscan Rd. are solely affected," Lehrer explained. "During these outages, I can look out my front and back windows and see several houses one direction with no power and when I look the other direction across the dividing line, those houses have power.  There is a clear problem and we are just trying to get this resolved before the cold weather begins. 

"The loud rattle and hum of generators is a common-place sound for our neighborhood," he added. "A sound we are desperately trying to avoid this winter.

If you are seeking help, you can file a complaint with the utility HERE.