Wednesday
September 18, 2024 
State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-16, has turned to the state Public Utility Commission for a solution to the frequent power outages that have nagged some Durham Township residents for more than a year.
Unable to get satisfactory answers from the utility, the power failures continue to exist, and the frustrated supervisors turned to the legislator for help.
At the supervisors’ June meeting, one resident said his home was without power for 10 hours recently.
At one point, several months ago, the township building was left with no power for most of the day and employees had to close the office and work from their personal phones.
Danielle Cox, township administrator, said she had fielded more than 20 outage complaints from residents. She said she had contacted Met-Ed on their behalf numerous times and eventually, frustrated at the utility’s lack of action and response, she had turned to the legislator’s office for help. She said Coleman worked with Met-Ed until the utility stopped communicating with him.
Robert Arena, outreach director at Coleman’s office promised, “We will be able to share more information when it becomes available.”
Coleman’s district includes 21 municipalities in Upper Bucks and parts of Lehigh County.
In other business, the supervisors approved the transfer of $300,000 to the township’s savings fund in order to take advantage of a higher interest rate.
The supervisors also directed the Durham Historical Society to gather estimates for work to be done on the Durham Grist Mill. They said engineering reports showed the reason a portion of one of the stone walls had bulged was water seeping through the roof and gutters. That needs to be addressed before the wall is repaired.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.