​MAYS LANDING, N.J. (Feb. 6, 2020) – Atlantic City Electric customers across South Jersey are continuing to experience improvements in the reliability of their energy service, a result of Atlantic City Electric's ongoing efforts to modernize the local energy grid. During the past five years, energy system upgrades and new innovative technologies have driven a 22 percent decrease in the frequency of electric outages customers experienced. 

The frequency of outages and the average duration of outages in 2019 remained some of the company's lowest ever. Last year, customers experienced less than one outage, on average, over the course of the year, and if service was interrupted, crews were able to safely restore service in just 86 minutes, on average, in 2019.

"The unwavering commitment our employees have to providing the best possible service for our customers is key to our repeated success," said Tyler Anthony, senior vice president & COO, Pepco Holdings, which includes Atlantic City Electric. "Through their hard work, and our integration of advanced technologies and industry best practices, we continue to meet our customers evolving energy needs and be a leader in the delivery of clean, safe and reliable energy."

Atlantic City Electric received PA Consulting's 2019 ReliabilityOne™ Most Improved Utility Award for efforts to modernize the local energy grid and deliver more reliable service for its customers. This is the second consecutive year PA Consulting recognized Atlantic City Electric's service reliability, providing the company with its ReliabilityOne™ Outstanding Midsize Utility Award in 2018. 

Each day, work is performed as part of the company's ongoing efforts to further improve reliability for customers. This work includes inspecting existing infrastructure, trimming trees that could potentially impact the system, building new substations, building new underground equipment, strengthening transmission and distribution lines, and installing stronger, tree-resistant aerial cable. The company also is installing innovative technologies to improve system reliability, such as specialized equipment that can automatically restore service more quickly or isolate damage. These new technologies have been a main driver behind the continued drop in the frequency of outages customers experience.

In 2019, Atlantic City Electric completed several key projects to help modernize the energy grid and enhance reliability for customers. These projects included:

• Monroe to Tansboro Transmission Line Upgrades - Upgraded more than 8 miles of existing electric transmission line in portions of Winslow and Monroe townships which included state-of-the-art steel utility poles, among other upgrades, to improve service for more than 83,000 customers in Camden and Gloucester counties.
• Orchard to Lewis Substation and Transmission Line Upgrades - Completed 41 miles of transmission system upgrades and substation enhancements across five counties and 13 municipalities, improving service to more than half of the company's 560,000 customers from Atlantic to Salem counties.
• Rio Grande Substation Rebuild – Upgraded an existing substation with new electric equipment including three new transformers, animal guarding and other enhancements to benefit thousands of customers in Middle and Lower townships in Cape May County. Orchard to Lewis Substation and Transmission Line Upgrades Orchard to Lewis Substation and Transmission Line Upgrades
  

In 2020, Atlantic City Electric will perform work on several major projects as part of the company's ongoing efforts to enhance reliability and modernize the local energy grid, all to provide customers with the reliable energy service they have come to expect. Some of these projects include:

• Atlantic City/Brigantine Community Reliability Project – Modernizing an existing substation and rebuilding two critical transmission lines between Atlantic City and Brigantine to strengthen the local energy infrastructure against more extreme weather and improve reliability for local customers.
• PowerAhead Grid Resiliency Initiative – Continuing to perform strategic reliability enhancement work across portions of the company's service area to modernize and enhance energy infrastructure in areas that have experienced outages during severe storms.
  

Atlantic City Electric also continues to share best practices for managing the local energy grid and responding to outages with its Exelon sister companies, BGE in Baltimore, ComEd in Chicago, Delmarva Power in Delaware, PECO in Philadelphia, and Pepco in Washington, D.C

Readers are encouraged to visit The Source, Atlantic City Electric's online news room. For more information about Atlantic City Electric, visit atlanticcityelectric.com. Follow the company on Facebook at facebook.com/atlanticcityelectric and on Twitter at twitter.com/acelecconnect. Our mobile app is available at atlanticcityelectric.com/mobileapp.