TOMS RIVER – An increase in power outages and capacity issues that could put some business development in jeopardy have Ocean County officials calling on the electric power company to significantly improve its accountability to its customers.

Deputy Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners Frank Sadeghi said he recently had a positive meeting with the new president of Jersey Central Power & Light Company, which provides electric power to many areas of Ocean County.

"I am cautiously optimistic that we have their attention," said Sadeghi, who threatened a $1 billion lawsuit against the company for damages. "They need to be more accountable to their customers."

Sadeghi said capacity issues could threaten the development of office buildings in areas like Lakewood, Jackson and Manchester townships, holding up work because there is a lack of enough power.

"Business owners could be waiting for a few years to build a new office complex as a result of this," Sadeghi said. "This hurts the County, it hurts our municipalities and we don't want our hands to be tied in this matter. This needs to change."

He added that recent power outages in areas of the County, some lasting for several hours at a time are disruptive to the residents of the County.

"We have the largest senior citizen population in the state," Sadeghi said. "Our residents rely on electricity for medical needs including oxygen and to keep their heat on during the winter.

"And these disruptions seem to happen any time of year – winter, summer and we don't know why," he said.

Sadeghi said he wants the dialogue to continue with the new company president but he also wants concrete milestones to come from the discussions. He added maybe there is a disconnect with the utility since its parent company First Energy is located in Ohio.

"I want dates of when we can expect upgrades and when the work will be finished," he said. "I want us to have regular meetings and monthly updates.

"We all rely on the utility companies if for nothing else for our basic needs, we want our lights to work, our refrigerators to keep our food cold, we want our heat to work," he said. "We pay for this. They need to do better."