November 3, 2020

Jim Fakult, president, Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), will be among the inaugural recipients of the Force for Change award from New Jersey’s Leading Women Entrepreneurs (LWE) organization.

LWE launched the Force for Change awards to honor New Jersey’s most innovative leaders of the next decade. In light of this unprecedented year, the award platform in 2020 will recognize those individuals who have made a significant and positive impact upon the lives of others during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jim will be recognized in the Utilities category.

“We’re honored to be recognized and I see this truly as a team effort,” Jim said. “Our employees’ commitment to keeping the lights on for our 1.1 million customers during these tough times – including storms as well as this pandemic – has never been stronger. Our number one priority is the safety and health of our employees as well as the public we are privileged to serve.”

In addition to leading JCP&L’s operations, Jim is serving on a council of statewide leaders to help guide the restart and recovery of New Jersey’s economy as COVID-19 restrictions are eased. He is a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee of the advisory group.

In a video interview* with Linda Wellbrock, LWE chief executive officer, Jim’s comments about how JCP&L is dealing with the pandemic were augmented by remarks from Jason Wallace, manager, Revenue Operations and Kim Contos, manager, Emergency Preparedness.

“At the beginning of March, we voluntarily suspended our disconnections for nonpayment,” said Jason. “As the pandemic has continued, we’ve increased our efforts to reach out to customers proactively to make them aware of assistance that may be available. We’ve been doing everything we can to work with our customers to keep the lights on.”

Kim described specific safety measures we’re taking to protect employees and the public. “At the beginning, we provided the necessary support and technology for almost half our workforce to work from home. We’re using alternating shifts. We’ve suspended meter reading that requires entering a customer’s home. We’ve split our groups into smaller work units to support social distancing. And, we’re working closely with our vendors and contractors to ensure they are following the same policies,” she said.

LWE is scheduled to honor Jim and other award recipients during a virtual event in early November. For more information on the award program, go to https://forceforchangenj.com/.*

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