MAYS LANDING, N.J. -Atlantic City Electric (ACE) today asked the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to authorize a base rate adjustment of approximately $61.7 million to help pay for infrastructure improvements and reliability investments already made on behalf of our customers. The base rate adjustment is subject to the review and approval of the BPU.

If the rate adjustment is approved as requested, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month would see a total monthly bill increase of $9.57 or $0.32 per day, from $170.34 to $179.91 per month, a 5.6 percent increase over rates currently in effect.

"In order to improve our electric system and continue providing quality service, it's important that we invest in new infrastructure and upgrade our existing electrical systems," said Vince Maione, ACE region president.

Over the past five years, ACE has invested approximately $685 million into our electric system. Customers are seeing the benefits of this work. Customers had 49 percent fewer outages and a 48 percent reduction in the length of outages in 2012 compared to 2011 on upgraded lines.

Since 2012, ACE has performed reliability upgrades and system improvements on about 140 feeders, higher voltage lines that distribute electricity to customers; installed automated switching technology on about 30 feeders designed to isolate outages and restore power to customers quicker; and upgraded about 150 circuit miles of wire with sturdier wire.

ACE currently plans to make infrastructure investments to further improve service reliability for customers through building new and upgrading existing infrastructure; building new substations; replacing transformers, poles, wires and other infrastructure improvements; and replacing wood utility poles with steel poles where warranted. However, ACE earns substantially below its authorized return on equity of 9.75 percent. This is caused in large part by the consolidated tax adjustment which has negatively impacted the level of rate recovery from recent rate filings. As a result, ACE has reduced planned capital expenditures in southern New Jersey by approximately $140 million through 2015.

Distribution rates cover the cost of delivering power, not the cost of the power itself. Customers who buy energy from a competitive supplier continue to receive distribution service from ACE so they also will be affected by this requested rate adjustment. The new total monthly bill for customers who shop for their energy will vary according to the price charged by the customer's supplier.

Customers with questions regarding billing or the rate adjustment can contact our Customer Care Center at 1-800-642-3780.

For information about energy assistance programs, customers can visit www.nj211.org or call 211, New Jersey's non-emergency helpline, available 24/7 throughout the state.

For more information about ACE, visit www.atlanticcityelectric.com. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/atlanticcityelectric and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/acelecconnect. Download our mobile app at www.atlanticcityelectric.com/mobileapp.

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