Heading into Tuesday, the number of Toms River customers without power is half what it was a day ago. However, JCP&L reported 7,564 are without power as of 1 a.m.

It's a second day in the dark for many residents, as Toms River outages are widespread. JCP&L reported more than 17,000 were without power Monday, up from 15,000 Sunday.

Just two examples: Several sections of the Oak Ridge Parkway corridor remain without power due to downed utility poles in the area.

Homestead Run was without power through at least Monday afternoon, including a Sunday evening evacuation of several streets there due to flooding.

Police headquarters at Oak Avenue, as well as town hall on Washington
Street, were among the facilities operating without power.

“We came back on at 4 p.m. today,” said Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy. “We got through it. We were on back-up generators.”

The police chief said the incident was a learning experience.

“We quickly realized what wasn’t part of the back-up system, what we’d have to do without its computers, instead tracking down the circuit it was on,” he said. “It was a good drill, in a way.”

Township Administrator Paul Shives said town hall is working on back-up generators and remained open for a full business day on Monday. Township offices are open until 4:30 p.m. and Shives said there are no service interruptions to township services except for the partial closure of Winding River Park due to flooding.

Bey Lea municipal golf course is also open but without power, Shives said, which means the electronic tee-time reservation system was down until power can be restored.

Shives said township offices at Washington Street are doing the best they can while operating on back-up power.

"The employees need to be commended," Shives said. "They've stepped up and we even managed to open Ortley Beach today. I didn't think we'd see that happen."

However, he asked residents calling into town hall to be patient. "The phones go in and out," Shives said.

Toms River Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Paul Daley said he happened to meet a JCP&L representative while out after the storm Sunday and got to see a thick book of areas affected in Toms River.

"There's often no rhyme or reason to the power grid," he said. “You may have power but your neighbor across the street could not, that’s the power grid.”