Most Residents Should Have Power By Midnight

Atlantic City Electric claims that more than 90 percent of its customers already have power back, and by 11:59 p.m. Friday night, 99 percent of those who lost power in the wake of last Friday night's should have power restored.

In a release issued on Thursday, Atlantic City Electric said that although it believed 100 percent of its customers by the end of the day Friday, July 6, some restoration will need to extend into the weekend. According to the electric company, areas that received the most extensive damage should expect a longer wait for full restoration. The company said it will notify those who should expect a longer wait by 9 p.m. Friday night.

“Although we have restored power to the vast majority of our customers, our crews are continuing to work 24/7 until every customer has power,” Atlantic City Electric Atlantic City Region President Vince Maione said. “We thank our customers for their understanding and patience, as well as mutual assistance, contractors and dedicated employees for all of their hard work to restore power quickly and safely.”

On Thursday, Atlantic County announced the distribution of water and ice at the Hamilton Mall would not continue on Friday. It also announced that with the restoration of power to the Mays Landing branch of the Atlantic County Library System, all 10 branches and all nine county senior centers would be open on Friday. Residents may call 1-888-426-9243 for locations and hours of operation.

Atlantic City Electric's work on large portions of the transmission system damaged by the high winds is complete, and the electric company has begun work on downed lines and poles in neighborhoods. The electric company calls this portion of the restoration "the most challenging part," as it is time and personnel intensive, the electric company said. More crews may be needed to restore power to an individual customer, and more damage may be identified, the electric company said.

It is important that if customers are still out of power that they report their outage again by calling 1-800-833-7476, going to www.atlanticcityelectric.com, or using the Atlantic City Electric self service app.  The electric company needs to identify those individual customers that may have originally been associated with a larger outage but still have no power due to damage closer to the service location.  These customers may have received a restoration call back, but they remain without power, the electric company said.

Atlantic City Electric also recommends, when reporting an outage, that customers request a call-back. Call-backs allow Atlantic City Electric to notify customers when work in their area is completed. 

Customers who have seasonal homes that are not open yet should verify service is not on prior to responding to call-backs with a “not in service” response.

To keep up to date, customers are encouraged to visit www.atlanticcityelectric.com, follow them on Facebook and Twitter at ACElecConnect and download their mobile app at www.atlanticcityelectric.com/mobileapp.

Locally, some municipalities may still offer cooling sites for residents without power, the county said. Information about the location and hours of operation for sites can be obtained by calling the local offices of emergency management. Contact numbers are available in the phone book and online at www.ReadyAtlantic.org.

Atlantic County officials are working on a debris management plan for the disposal of waste from the storm. The county asks residents to separate household waste from tree branches. As soon as disposal sites are identified they will be announced. Regular trash pick up should continue as usual.