Atlantic City Electric is Preparing for the Summer Storm Season and is Reminding Customers to Prepare With Us
The summer season is approaching and with it the potential of summer storms. Major storms in the summer can be devastating to our communities. Such storms can include high winds, lightning and hurricanes that could disrupt our lives with power outages and damage structures and homes from downed trees or high water from flooding. We are committed to providing safe, reliable service and remain prepared to respond to major events that impact our communities. To support our commitment, critical infrastructure projects are being completed throughout the Atlantic City Electric service territory to meet system demands.
We have made significant improvements to our infrastructure. Over the past five years, we’ve spent approximately $767 million in electric system upgrades by replacing hundreds of utility poles and hundreds of miles of power lines with sturdier, more resilient wire, constructing new infrastructure and substations, and expanding and upgrading existing infrastructure including the installation of automation devices designed to isolate outages and restore power to customers more quickly.
In 2016 alone we spent nearly $160 million to maintain and strengthen our power delivery system including:
- Constructing a new distribution substation and associated transmission lines in Cape May County.
- Completing nearly 30 separate substation enhancement projects that included new transformers, switchgear and other equipment.
- Completed reliability improvements on 41 distribution feeders that significantly improved service for customers.
In addition, over the last three years, we have spent more than $62 million on tree trimming and vegetation management along more than 5,400 miles of distribution power lines to help prevent outages.
Our storm preparation efforts also include implementing a planned, strategic response to restoring service as quickly and safely as possible. This includes:
- Providing new customers with information on how to prepare for storms and potential power outages, such as our “Storm Prep Handbook” available at www.atlanticcityelectric.com/handbook.
- Planning for additional personnel and resources, as needed, to restore service after a major storm. As an Exelon utility, we are able to share resources with BGE, PECO, Pepco and Delmarva Power which allows us to respond to storms faster and more cost-effectively.
- Working with local government, public safety personnel and first responders through our Emergency Services Partnership Program to respond quickly, safely and effectively to emergencies.
Our employees prepare for the possibility of storm-related power outages by regularly participating in emergency drills. We maintain a supply of essential equipment, such as poles, wires and transformers.
Help us spread the word about emergency preparedness to your constituents and our customers by sharing this information with your designated officials, key staff and residents through your various communication channels. Below are a few helpful links so we can all be weather-ready.
Atlantic City Electric Storm Preparation Handbook: atlanticcityelectric.com/handbook
Report an outage online: atlanticcityelectric.com/reportoutage
Track the restoration process with our outage map: atlanticcityelectric.com/outagemap
Download the Atlantic City Electric Mobile App: atlanticcityelectric.com/mobileapp