Glen Rock Residents Tee Off on PSEG Project at Forum, Report Says

Residents of Glen Rock on Monday followed Ridgewood's lead in condemning a PSEG project that has seen the installation of tall utility poles running high voltage lines in residential neighborhoods.

PSEG says the project is part of its overall effort to upgrade critical infrastructure to mitigate the potential for outages during inclement weather.

The project – which features the installation of hundreds of poles to "strengthen" the substations of Paramus and Fair Lawn – did not initially arouse any concerns among Glen Rock residents when work began over a month ago.

That since has changed.

According to a report on northjersey.com, roughly 40 irked residents attended the PSEG forum at Borough Hall on Monday.

"The fact that you are here in the middle of August, when many people are on vacation, after the work is done, proves that you don’t care about anything except that we pay our bills," said resident John Hahn, according to the report.

As was the case in Ridgewood, residents expressed concern should wires running up to 69,000 kilovolts of electricity fall, as well as purported dangers from electromagnetic fields (EMFs).

PSEG again said there are numerous safety features with the new 65-foot-tall poles (which replace the 26KV network), like lightning grounding systems and breakers to de-electrify broken lines, according to the report.

The utility maintains there is no scientific evidence to believe there are dangers associated with the EMF levels.

Ridgewood is mulling whether it wants to fight PSEG by appealing the project to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. PSEG has agreed to halt work in Ridgewood until at least Thursday, Mayor Paul Aronsohn said.