Power was restored to all Atlantic City Electric customers by Sunday afternoon, more than a week after a powerful thunderstorm known as a derecho hit the region tearing down power lines and trees with wind gusts of more than 70 miles per hour.
At the storm’s peak on June 30, more than 200,000 Atlantic City Electric customers lost power. It took until 2:15 p.m. Sunday for all power to be restored, according to a press release from Atlantic City Electric.
According to a report issued Sunday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, more than 146,000 customers remain without power nationwide due to the storm.
Most Atlantic City Electric customers saw power restored by July 4, but a number of outages extended into the weekend due to heavy tree damage that made repairs challenging. That left some customers without power as a heat wave hit the region with temperatures approaching 100 degrees.
“The derecho was by many accounts the most destructive storm to strike the Mid-Atlantic region since Hurricane Isabel nearly a decade ago,” said Vince Maione, Atlantic City Electric regional president. “Restoring service has been a mammoth effort involving about 1,500 total personnel. We appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers who had to cope with outages during record-breaking heat.”
Demand resulting from the extreme heat forecast for the weekend combined with existing storm-related damage could cause additional outages. Atlantic City Electric customers are asked to continue conserving electricity to avoid any issues. Conservation tips are available on Atlantic City Electric’s website.
Contact Jennifer Bogdan:
609-272-7239
Follow Jennifer Bogdan on Twitter @ACPressJennifer
