Equipment crash knocks out power to thousands in Ocean County NJ

A piece of construction equipment operated by a contractor at the site of the former Oyster Creek nuclear plant is to blame for a power outage Monday that knocked out power for nearly 31,000 customers in southern Ocean County, according to JCP&L.

As of 3 p.m. over 18,000 customers were still without power according to the JCP&L outage map.

The incident at the property now owned by Holtec happened after 1 p.m., amid temperatures in the 80s and high humidity.

While the facility no longer produces power, the plant still conducts electricity to nearby substations, spokesman Chris Honig told New Jersey 101.5.

"We de-energized the system for safety so they can clear the contractor and the truck," Honig said. "Most people should be up fairly quickly as soon as they make that scene safe."

Holtec did not respond to New Jersey 101.5's request for more information on Monday afternoon.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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Filed Under: Barnegat, Lacey, Ocean County, Ocean Township (Ocean), Waretown

Categories: New Jersey News