WILDWOOD – Atlantic City Electric (ACE) delivered a spare transformer to the Wildwood area, Monday morning, July 17, which, according to a Pepco Holdings spokesman, will add energy system redundancy, helping to ensure reliable service until permanent repairs are made.
The fix after the outage, which began July 7, restored power at around 4:30 a.m. July 9, but it was only considered temporary. Frank Tedesco, a spokesperson with Pepco Holdings, parent company of ACE, said there has not yet been a cause listed for the fire that resulted in over 24,000 customers losing electricity.
Tedesco said the delivery of the transformer would “result in potential traffic delays and temporary road closures on West Pine, Susquehanna and Spicer Avenues to stage equipment and allow company vehicle access.”
The Wildwood Police Department (WPD) advised the public that, July 17, work would be performed at the electric substation located in the 3300 block of Susquehanna Avenue, as well as a lot in the 400 block of West Pine Avenue.
“As a result,” the WPD announced, “road closures and parking restrictions will be in place throughout the day to allow for equipment staging and access for large vehicles.”
The police advised that “no parking” signs were posted in the affected areas and vehicles were to be moved by no later than 7 a.m. Monday morning.
“We appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers and the community as we continue to make these permanent energy grid repairs. We expect the road closures to continue throughout the day today,” Tedesco said July 17.
ACE installed a significant amount of temporary equipment, Tedesco said, including mobile transformers and large generators used to provide power to customers.
Tedesco said ACE is continuing to gain a better understanding of the full extent of the necessary repairs and will then work to install more permanent devices and equipment at the substation and to the local energy grid.
He said there was currently no confirmed timeframe for the completion of the work.
The Lake Avenue substation has been operational and serving the Wildwoods since 1955.
ACE has performed energy grid upgrades in recent years in and around the Wildwood area, including transmission line upgrades from the mainland to the barrier islands, to improve service reliability.
ACE recently completed two major reliability projects in Cape May County to continue to enhance the reliability and resiliency of the local energy grid, Tedesco said.
