6:00PM EST: [UPDATE BELOW] YWN has received reports of a power outage affecting large parts of Monmouth & Ocean Counties in New Jersey. As many as 10,000 people are being affected by the power-outage, which may have started due to a transformer explosion in Neptune, NJ.

Hatzolah of Jersey Shore has been activated, Lakewood Chaveirim is responding to Deal NJ to assist with generators and manpower, and LCSW (Lakewood Community Watch Group) has dispatched units to patrol the streets of Deal.

The Mesivta of Eatontown has reportedly been affected as well.

Customers have also lost service in several Ocean County towns including Lakewood, Toms River and Barnegat, according to the website for Jersey Central Power & Light.

So far the outage has affected thousands of customers and shut down traffic lights on major roads including Route 36, just in time for rush hour.

JCP&L is currently trying to determine the cause of the problem, but said the scope of the outage suggests the problem is with the transmission and not distribution.

Further details about the extent of the outage were not immediately available.

Local police encouraged drivers who would normally take Route 36 to use local roads, and said additional officers have been dispatched to monitor traffic.

UPDATE 11:50PM EST: Most of the thousands of customers who lost power in much of Monmouth County and parts of Ocean County have had their electricity restored, a utility spokesman said tonight.

About 90,000 Jersey Central Power & Light customers were without electricity at the height of the outage, and all but 850 customers had been restored by 10:30 p.m., utility spokesman Ron Morano said.

Those remaining customers were located in Neptune and Ocean townships, both in Monmouth County, and they were expected to be restored by midnight, Morano added.

(YWN-50 / YWN-112 / YWN-Lipas)