Nearly 50,000 New Jersey residents were still without power Monday evening as utility companies struggled to restore electricity following a brutal weekend of thunderstorms and flash flooding — and for some, relief may not come until Wednesday.
As of 4:30 p.m. Monday, roughly 49,885 customers across the state remained in the dark. Jersey Central Power & Light accounted for the largest share of outages, with just over 38,000 customers still without service. A company spokesperson said most of those customers should have power restored by Tuesday night — but warned that some may wait until Wednesday.
More than 9,000 PSE&G customers were also still waiting for power Monday afternoon. The utility said it had already restored service to approximately 343,000 customers who lost power since July 1, but did not provide a firm timeline for full restoration. Over 1,500 Orange & Rockland Utilities customers and more than 700 Atlantic City Electric customers were also still affected.
The widespread outages came after a punishing sequence of extreme weather. Just days after New Jersey endured a 100-degree heat wave, powerful thunderstorms tore through the state Friday night — sending outages statewide to a peak of approximately 249,000 customers around 9:30 p.m.
Parts of the state were drenched with nearly 6 inches of rain within a single 24-hour period, triggering serious flash flooding and prompting numerous water rescues across several communities.
Residents still without power are urged to avoid downed power lines, never use generators indoors, and check on elderly or vulnerable neighbors who may be struggling in the heat.
Officials are reminding residents to report outages directly to their utility provider and to preserve food safety by keeping refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
Updates on restoration timelines are expected to be released by utility companies as crews continue working around the clock.
