MAYS LANDING — Atlantic City Electric has completed construction on a major transmission line-upgrade project to enhance energy service for thousands of its customers in Atlantic and Cape May counties.
The project involved rebuilding and modernizing 1.3 miles of parallel transmission lines spanning Great Egg Harbor Bay.
The transmission lines connect Cape May and Atlantic counties and play a key role in delivering energy across the region, according to a news release from the utility.
“It’s important we continue to strengthen and modernize critical energy infrastructure throughout South Jersey to enhance reliability for our customers,” said Dan Loveland, Atlantic City Electric director of project management. “This is the only transmission line in our service area with structures in a large body of water, and I’m proud of how our team worked together to tackle this challenge, using innovative approaches to complete the upgrades efficiently and minimize any potential impacts to the bay and nearby communities.”
The project replaced existing lattice transmission tower structures, originally constructed in the 1960s, with new, state-of-the-art steel transmission poles capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds up to 120 mph.
The upgrades increase the power-carrying capacity of the two transmission lines and create a stronger and more resilient energy grid.
To minimize any potential impacts to the unique marine environment surrounding the transmission lines, crews used a barge to install the new transmission poles and a helicopter to install new fiber optic equipment on the lines.
These smart technologies help create a stronger, more redundant energy system and improve system reliability by remotely relaying critical data to the company in real-time and enabling the company to automatically restore service more quickly or isolate damage.
For more information on reliability enhancement projects across southern New Jersey, visit atlanticcityelectric.com.