Lopatcong Township was the hardest-hit area.
UPDATE: Power restored in Phillipsburg area after repairs, JCP&L says
A power outage that had held steady through Monday morning at just about 700 customers mostly in Lopatcong Township ballooned early in the afternoon to more than 4,500 customers.
A transformer blew, township police said. Most power had been restored after the initial outage but then it went out again, police said.
EARLIER: Power out in Lopatcong Township
A JCP&L spokesman earlier Monday said he didn't know the cause of the initial outage, but fuses were being replaced on individual poles.
A spokesman Monday afternoon said he couldn't confirm a transformer blew, just that "something tripped" and power was out to about 4,500 customers. A crew was on-site, he said.
He couldn't say if it was the same outage as earlier or a new one. He promised updates when they are available.
With a restoration time of 3:30 p.m., 3,213 of 3,976 possible JCP&L customers in the township were without power. Another 948 -- out of 1,228 -- were out in Harmony Township and 321 in Phillipsburg, the utility's outage page said at 1:30 p.m.
More than 200 Phillipsburg customers had regained power since 1:15 p.m., but that number got worse near 2 p.m. and was above 550, the outage page said.
The outage touched several customers in White, Pohatcong and Greenwich townships, as well.
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
