Peermont Phase II to Begin in Stone Harbor

STONE HARBOR – For some in Stone Harbor hearing about the Peermont Project brings back memories of 70-foot high steel poles that set off major protests at borough governing body meetings.
Peermont Phase II, a much smaller and contained project, will allow Atlantic City Electric to complete the conversion of the borough’s power distribution system.
The first phase of the Peermont Project brought new and redundant transmission lines to Seven Mile Island increasing the voltage from 23,000 to 69,000 volt lines.
The upgrade was done to increase reliability and stay ahead of the growing appetite for electric power as the island continues to move from small summer cottages to larger modern homes with increased power needs.
Also part of that initial project was a new substation at 60th Street in Avalon. The upgraded infrastructure and the new galvanized steel poles required by ACE’s standards for high voltage transmission lines were intended to provide additional resiliency with the poles able to withstand 120 mph winds.
Not all property owners agreed with the utility’s design for the power lines during Phase I, with many arguing that the wires should be underground.
Phase II of the project deals exclusively with distribution lines, that part of the infrastructure that moves power from the substation to homes. 
The installation of distribution feeder lines will, according to ACE, allow the infrastructure to take advantage of the capabilities of the substation allowing for multiple feeds and increasing the ability of the utility to narrowly segment areas impacted during any outage.
At a meeting in October 2016, Daniel Woods, the ACE project director, said the distribution infrastructure “segments our customer load and improved reliability.”
The Phase II portion of the project was to begin in 2017, but many in Stone Harbor objected to the plan to have the transmission lines go down First Avenue. 
A decision to complete the distribution system in Avalon first and then return to Stone Harbor gave the utility time to redesign its distribution plan in Stone Harbor.
The Phase II portion of the project will utilize the existing steel poles, bringing the system along Second Avenue instead of First.
As the system moves south of the steel poles, some new wooden poles will be installed and these will be about 10 feet higher than the existing wooden poles, 55 feet compared to 45 feet.
Some new equipment will also be installed on the wooden poles with efforts made to limit any impacts on line of sight from neighboring homes.
A recent meeting of borough officials with ACE led Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour to say at the Dec. 18 borough council meeting that the project is expected to begin March 1 and be completed by April 30, 2019.