Atlantic City Electric Preparing For Tropical Storm Hermine

Atlantic City Electric is preparing for the possibility of power outages related to Tropical Storm Hermine, which was expected to become a hurricane and may have an impact on New Jersey this weekend.

“If the storm system gains in strength, it could damage the electric system and cause power outages,” the electric company said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Atlantic City Electric will work around the clock to restore any outages that may occur. When winds exceed 35 mph, work from bucket trucks may need to be suspended until it is safe for crews to continue.”

In addition to 125 internal personnel, Atlantic City Electric has an additional 160 overhead line contractors and tree crew personnel as well as crews from its sister utilities Delmarva Power and Pepco available to assist in any restoration effort.

Should Atlantic City Electric need extra assistance, the merger with Exelon allows for shared resources from other nearby companies in the Exelon family, including Baltimore Gas & Electric and PECO in Philadelphia, according to the electric company.

“We monitor every storm and are paying particular attention to this one,” Atlantic City Electric Region President Vince Maione said. “Customers can also take steps to make sure they are ready too. We encourage customers with special needs or those dependent upon electricity for medical equipment, to have an alternate arrangement in place in the event they experience an extended power outage.”

Atlantic City Electric is also in contact with local emergency management officials.

The electric company advises customers to have an emergency kit, including a flashlight, battery-powered radio, extra batteries, non-perishable food, bottled water, manual can opener, cash, any essential medications and a list of important phone numbers.

All items can be placed into a large cooler which can be used at home and is easy to grab if a person has to leave home quickly.

Customers are also encouraged to identify a safe alternate location in case of an extended outage; tune to local news broadcasts for the latest weather and emergency information and follow the advice of local emergency management officials.

If a personal generator is needed, never use indoors or inside an attached garage. A portable generator is an internal combustion engine that exhausts a deadly gas called carbon monoxide or CO.

Also, do not connect a generator directly to the home's wiring. If a generator is plugged into the electrical circuits of a home, power can back-feed into the utility company lines which can injure or kill utility workers fixing downed power lines. It also can cause downed lines to re-energize.

Customers are asked to report any outages and to stay away from any downed wires.

To report outages and/or downed wires, call 1-800-833-7476, follow the prompts, and ask for a call back to confirm that power has been restored.

Outages also may be reported through atlanticcityelectric.com or through the company’s mobile app.
Atlantic City Electric also provides a “Weathering the Storm Fact Sheet” that can be downloaded at atlanticcityelectric.com.