​MAYS LANDING, N.J. (October 21, 2021) – Atlantic City Electric has completed construction on three critical transmission line upgrade projects, enhancing energy service for tens of thousands of its customers in Atlantic, Cape May, Burlington, and Ocean counties. As part of Atlantic City Electric's ongoing efforts to modernize energy infrastructure across its service area, these projects are critical to help fortify the local energy grid against more powerful storms and improve reliability for customers and visitors to the region.

"We are committed to continuing to provide our customers with the level of service they have come to expect. In addition to modernizing our critical infrastructure, these reliability improvement projects strengthen the energy grid against more frequent and severe weather driven by climate change," said Doug Mokoid, Atlantic City Electric region president. "We thank our crews, contractors, and other support personnel who worked diligently on these projects that will further enhance service reliability for our customers in these areas."

The Atlantic to Ocean Counties Reliability Project upgraded 15 miles of critical transmission line running through Port Republic, Bass River Township and Little Egg Harbor Township. Crews upgraded the existing transmission line with modern energy equipment and installed new, stronger utility poles capable of withstanding hurricane force winds up to 120 mph. This upgrade further enhances service reliability for more than 22,000 customers in Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean counties.

The Middle Township to the Wildwoods Reliability Project upgraded four miles of transmission line between Middle Township and the Wildwoods to strengthen the local energy infrastructure, improving reliability for more than 24,000 customers in Cape May County. To minimize impacts to this environmentally sensitive area, crews used helicopters to install new, state-of-the-art steel utility poles and modern energy infrastructure.

Additionally, Atlantic City Electric rebuilt four miles of transmission line through Middle and Dennis townships to improve reliability for thousands of Cape May County customers. The project replaced aging utility poles with new, stronger poles and modern equipment to improve the resiliency of the local energy grid. These infrastructure upgrades, along with enhanced tree-trimming and vegetation management, will strengthen the region's energy grid and lead to fewer storm-related outages and better reliability for customers.

"To safely perform the transmission line upgrades in Cape May County, we were required to periodically close lanes along portions of Route 9, which resulted in some traffic delays. We thank and appreciate the understanding of local residents and businesses as we performed this important reliability enhancement work to benefit our customers," said Mokoid.

Atlantic City Electric is committed to minimizing any impacts to the local community during project construction, while keeping its customers and communities informed throughout the entire process. These reliability projects are part of Atlantic City Electric's broader strategic effort to modernize and strengthen the local energy grid, making it smarter, stronger and cleaner for customers. This includes installing innovative technologies to improve system reliability, such as specialized equipment that can automatically restore service or isolate damage, leading to faster restoration.

These upgrades continue to improve reliability for customers by reducing the frequency and duration of outages. Atlantic City Electric customers experienced the lowest frequency of electric outages ever in 2020. Over the past ten years, energy system upgrades and new innovative technologies have reduced electric outages by 53 percent for Atlantic City Electric customers and communities.

Atlantic City Electric is planning several other major projects as part of the company's ongoing efforts to enhance reliability and modernize the local energy grid. Some of these projects include:

• Greater Gloucester and Camden Counties Reliability Project – Upgrading 10 miles of transmission line between Monroe Township and Pine Hill to improve reliability for 13,600 customers in Gloucester and Camden counties.
• Salem County Reliability Project – Rebuilding 3.5 miles of transmission line, that primarily runs along Route 130 between Penns Grove and Pennsville, to enhance the quality of energy service for thousands of local customers.
• Washington/Gloucester Reliability Project – Modernizing an existing substation to improve energy service reliability for more than 10,000 existing customers in Washington Township and about 1,300 customers in Gloucester Township.
  

For more information on reliability enhancement projects across South Jersey, visit atlanticcityelectric.com/Reliability.

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