Atlantic City Electric is monitoring a coastal storm that is expected to bring severe weather to our area this weekend. Strong winds and heavy rainfall may bring down trees and damage equipment, resulting in power outages for our customers. We are prepared for this event and have enhanced our staffing resources to best respond. Safety is our top priority. We urge customers to stay away from downed wires and other equipment. To report a downed wire, call 800-833-7476. Report and track outages through our mobile app or website at atlanticcityelectric.com/StormPrep.
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Company Requests Four Percent Increase Due to Increased Investment and Higher Costs
MAYS LANDING, N.J. - Atlantic City Electric today asked the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to authorize an increase in base rates, only the second requested base rate increase in nearly 20 years. If approved, this would be the first increase to the company's distribution rates since 1992 and the change would add about 4.2 percent to monthly residential electric bills, effective spring 2010. The typical monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would increase by $6.76 from $161.18 to $167.94.
The proposed $54.1 million increase reflects rising costs required to provide customers with safe and reliable electric service. Factors include higher cost of maintaining and enhancing the distribution system throughout the company's eight-county, southern New Jersey territory.
"Atlantic City Electric is committed to controlling its operations and maintenance costs," said Atlantic City Electric Region President Vince Maione. "We recognize the impact that higher energy prices have had on our customers in recent years and we have taken several steps operationally to keep costs down. Some of those steps include a freeze on salaries, capped staffing levels, scaled-back medical benefits and reduced pension benefits for new hires."
The distribution rates are one component of the company's total delivery charges and cover the cost of continuing to provide customers with safe and reliable service, investment in new technology and improvements to keep pace with growth and increasing demand.
Supply rates, which are a separate category of rates, are adjusted periodically to reflect the cost of power that Atlantic City Electric buys on behalf of its customers who do not buy power from an alternate supplier. Supply costs are driven primarily by the cost of fuel to make electricity. Supply rates also recover the costs associated with the company's transmission system, which is used to move bulk power into and throughout the service territory. Customers who buy from a competing supplier will see the same increase in their base rates. Their new total monthly bill will vary according to the per-kilowatt-hour price charged by their supplier.
ACE Base Rate Filing
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Atlantic City Electric, a public utility owned by Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM), provides safe, reliable and affordable regulated electric delivery services to more than 547,000 customers in southern New Jersey.
