Gloucester County Residents Unhappy With New Utility Poles

EAST GREENWICH TWP, N.J. (CBS) — Giant metal utility poles through residential neighborhoods in parts of Gloucester County are upsetting some local property owners and officials.

Some of the metal poles have bases the size of elevator shafts and are 2-3 times as tall as most utility poles.

"I didn't realize it was going to be this big," says Barbara Murphy who got a new jumbo-size pole on her property at Harmony and Sweedesboro Roads in East Greenwich Township.

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Atlantic City Electric is planting the poles along an 18-mile stretch connecting a new substation in Woolwich Township and an expanded substation in Woodstown.

The High Street Substation and associated transmission lines will connect existing substations at Billingsport Road in Paulsboro and East Lake Road in Woodstown.

The project goes through parts of Paulsboro, East Greenwich, Greenwich, South Harrison, Swedesboro, Pilesgrove and Woolwich.

"No one is happy with these poles. The first thing you see in this nice rural area is these giant poles," says Richard DeFabrizio who hired an attorney to get AC Electric to move 4 poles on his property closer to the street.

He's trying to recoup more than $2,000 in legal fees and Murphy is seeking more than $3,000 in property damages caused by construction.

Atlantic City Electric senior communications specialist Frank Tedesco emphasized to Eyewitness the need to meet growing energy needs and fortify electricity infrastructure in light of thunderstorms in 2015 that knocked out power for more than a week in parts of South Jersey.

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In a statement to Eyewitness News he said:

"We are constantly investing in our system to help ensure we provide the safe and reliable service our customers have come to expect from Atlantic City Electric. During the past five years, we have spent more than three quarters of a billion dollars to modernize our electric system and the High Street Substation Project is a perfect example of the work we do to meet the needs of our customers."

In addition to the large metal poles there are many more over-sized wooden poles meant to withstand 120 mph winds.

East Greenwich Mayor Dale Archer acknowledged the need for better power reliability but says the Township is not pleased with the appearance of the new poles and wishes they had been placed along Interstate 295.