ACE Feeder Project Includes LED Lights

AVALON – In 2016, Atlantic City Electric completed the construction of a substation on 60th Street and brought to the island enhanced power capacity through a transmission system supported by galvanized steel utility poles running from 60th Street south into Stone Harbor. 
A part of that infrastructure upgrade included an improved feeder distribution system that will allow for greater redundancy and more segmentation of the user community resulting in, what the utility says will be, enhanced reliability and quicker recovery in the case of an outage.
The total feeder project will result in running the electrical distribution lines along the east side of Dune Drive from 80th Street to the mid-block area of 34/35th Street. 
The project will involve replacement of aging wood poles with new wood poles, slightly larger than the existing ones. This project does not include an extension of the use of steel poles which are limited to the transmission system already in place.
Along with the lines and poles, the old transformers will also be replaced.
The entire program from the substation to the transmission infrastructure to the feeder distribution system is intended to provide greater resiliency to the borough and to enhance capacity to keep up with growing and projected demand. Some equipment being replaced is over a quarter-century old. 
LED Replacements
Another aspect of the project will be replacing existing lighting with LED street lights which the borough says will improve energy efficiency as well as provide better lighting in support of public safety.
This lighting along the eastern side of Dune Drive will be installed as part of the pole-to-pole replacement project. The borough plans to replace the lights along the west side of Dune Drive as well, again using LED lights. The intent is to provide a uniform appearance along the main thoroughfare.
While some concerns exist regarding the reliability of LED lighting, with some users reporting less than optimal results, most studies indicate that LED lighting is more efficient and more reliable than current sodium-vapor streetlights.
At a Dec. 13 meeting of the borough council, Business Administrator Scott Wahl said that the project would give the borough an opportunity to assess the use of LED lighting which could potentially be used elsewhere in the borough.
The borough website will maintain a continuous update on the project.
Plans call for the ACE feeder project to be completed before the start of summer 2018.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.