Gov. Chris Christie took to the airwaves this morning to talk about recovery from the storm, saying work crews are out in force to get the power back on.

“From a utilities perspective, this cleanup is worse than the cleanup after Irene,” said Christie, referencing the hurricane that flooded parts of the state in August.

The storm came so early in the season, leaves were still on trees, causing the heavy snow to topple the trees into roads and power lines.

Christie said there were 1,200 state transportation workers and 1,000 utility crews on the job, including some brought in from as far away as Ohio.

There are 145,000 PSE&G customers without power as of 9 a.m. The counties most affected include Bergen (66,000), Essex (46,500) and Passaic (10,900) due to the extensive amount of tree and power damage.

More than 70 percent of customers who lost power during the storm have been restored, PSE&G says.

Jersey Central Power & Light says 215,232 customers without power as of 8:04 a.m. and it may be Thursday before most have their lights back.

Atlantic City Electric has more than 2,300 customers without power.

The governor was on four radio stations this morning: 1010 WINS, WCBS 880, NJ 101.5 and WNYC.

Christie said being without power “stinks.” His Morris County home was in the dark from 4 p.m. Saturday through 7 p.m. Sunday

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