MAYS LANDING, N.J. (May 31, 2017) - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlantic hurricane season outlook predicts 11 to 17 named storms of which five to nine could become hurricanes including two to four major hurricanes. Atlantic City Electric (ACE) has taken proactive measures to help ensure safe and reliable service for its customers through the Atlantic hurricane season which runs June 1 through November 30. 

"We are prepared for whatever the summer storm and hurricane seasons bring," said Vince Maione, Atlantic City Electric region president. "It takes only one storm to cause property damage and widespread power outages. We want to assure our customers that we are committed to an emergency response system that makes safety a priority, restores power as quickly as possible and provides customers with information on how to prepare for and deal with weather-related outages."

As an Exelon utility, Atlantic City Electric is able to share resources with BGE, PECO, Pepco and Delmarva Power which allows the company to respond to storms faster and more cost-effectively.

ACE had made significant improvements to its infrastructure. Over the past five years, the company has 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 addition, over the last three years, ACE has 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.

"We believe preventive maintenance is essential in reducing the potential for service interruptions caused by stormy weather," said Maione. "We plan to continue to make investments over the next several years to further enhance our electric infrastructure. 

Atlantic City Electric, in partnership with the Cape May County Office of Emergency Management, held an Emergency Preparedness Conference May 31 to share important storm preparedness messaging with the public in advance of the summer storm and hurricane seasons.

ACE encourages customers to assemble an emergency kit that can be used at home and, if necessary, taken with them if they're ordered to evacuate. Each kit should include a flashlight, battery-powered clock and radio, extra batteries, non-perishable food, manual can opener, bottled water and a list of important phone numbers. All items can be placed into a large cooler which is easy to grab if a person has to leave home quickly.

Below are a few helpful links so residents are weather-ready. 

Atlantic City Electric Storm Preparation Handbook: atlanticcityelectric.com/handbook

Cape May County Emergency Management: capemaycountyemergency.net

American Red Cross Resources: redcross.org./

Care for your pets in a storm-related evacuation or other emergency: animalemergency.nj.gov

For more information about Atlantic City Electric, visit atlanticcityelectric.com. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/atlanticcityelectric and on Twitter at twitter.com/acelecconnect. Our mobile app is available at atlanticcityelectric.com/mobileapp.