Winter Storm Jonas, bringing high winds and heavy snow, moved into the region last night and is expected to continue through Sunday morning. The storm caused significant damage in Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean counties, leaving more than 40,000 Atlantic City Electric customers without power.
Sustained winds of 30 mph to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph along the coast have hampered restoration efforts. Crews will assess damage and make repairs when they can work safely. Significant flooding along the coast is also preventing access to areas requiring repair and further delaying restoration. Critical customers who need electricity for life support equipment are advised to seek shelter where power is available.
“We’re keeping a close watch on the weather and wind speeds,” said Vince Maione, Atlantic City Electric region president. “We’ll continue conducting a comprehensive assessment which we’ll use to strategically deploy crews. Crews will work around the clock as safely and quickly as possible until every customer is restored.”
All Atlantic City Electric employees have a second role during emergencies and will participate in the restoration effort. Mutual assistance personnel from other utilities have also been enlisted to assist in the restoration process.
Atlantic City Electric will prioritize its restoration effort by first addressing damage to its critical electric infrastructure including transmission lines and substation equipment, as well as hospitals, fire and police stations, water filtration plants. Next, crews repair main distribution lines that serve the largest number of customers, followed by single customers in rural areas.
The safety of our customers and crews is paramount. Customers are urged to avoid working crews and to stay away from all downed wires, even if they don’t appear to be energized.
All outages and downed wires should be reported to 1-800-833-7476, through opens in a new windowwww.atlanticcityelectric.com or through the mobile app, available for downloading at atlanticcityelectric.com/mobileapp. Customers should request a call back to verify their power has been restored.