Information from Atlantic City Electric about the new Electricity Upgrade Project for Seven Mile Island

  1. How can property owners get more information about the specific impacts to their property associated with this project?

    Atlantic City Electric will be available and is setting up times to discuss any concerns with individual property owners. These dates will be communicated to property owners so meeting times can be reserved. In the interim, concerned property owners can contact the Atlantic City Electric Real Estate representative, Stephanie Rankin, at 609-625-6364.

  2. What is the detailed historical and projected justification to increase electric capacity from 23 kilovolts to 69 kilovolts?

    The upgrade of Peermont Substation and the associated lines is required to relieve a predicted summer normal rating overloads at Peermont Substation. The upgrade of Peermont Substation, upgrade of the 23 kV lines to 69 kV, and the addition of four (4) new distribution feeders will allow ACE to mitigate this overload to avoid potential outages. Additionally, the Court-Stone Harbor 23 kV circuit has a short section of submarine cable which requires continued maintenance and the repair of a faulted submarine cable requires a minimum of four (4) weeks. In the event of a 23 kV underground line failure, the island would have an emergency overload of 46% and ACE would have load at risk. The retirement of Stone Harbor Substation is necessary due to the deteriorated 23kV facilities. The equipment has reached end of life.

  3. How much of Stone Harbor’s electricity is served by the Peermont Substation in Avalon?

    Currently, approximately 23% of Stone Harbor’s load is served from the existing Peermont Substation. Once the project is complete in 2016, approximately 65% of the Stone Harbor load will be served by the new Peermont Substation. By 2018, 100% of Stone Harbor’s load will be served by Peermont Substation.

  4. How big will the poles be in Stone Harbor?

    The majority of the poles that will be installed in Stone Harbor will be approximately 70’ tall and typically 20” – 23” in diameter.

    There are a few structures that will be 42” in diameter and these are located on the corner of 95th street and 2nd Avenue and 80th street and 2nd Avenue. These structures are larger than the majority of structures due to the fact Atlantic City Electric is eliminating guywires and anchors which can encumber properties and create maintenance issues in the future.

  5. Why are the poles larger than the existing poles?

    The height and size of the poles is due to National Electric Safety Code (NESC), PJM, and Atlantic City Electric Safety Standards for 69 kV lines. The poles are taller due to updated clearance requirements for the electric facilities and the addition of a shield wire for lightning protection. All poles are designed for several weather cases, such as 120 mph winds, which were not in place when the original 23 kV line was installed.

  6. Why doesn’t Atlantic City Electric use wood poles for this project?

    Steel poles offer significant improvements in reliability, longevity, and uniformity when compared to equivalent wood poles. Wood poles that would be needed for this project would be as large as or larger than the majority of the steel poles that are being installed. Any wood pole would need to be the exact same height and meet the same structural requirements as a steel pole.

  7. Are there going to be new poles on both sides of 95th street? How many actual new poles will be places on 95th Are the new poles all the same diameter?

    There will not be new steel poles on both sides of 95th street. All of the new steel poles on 95th street will be located on the south side of the street. Atlantic City Electric is replacing fifteen (15) existing wood poles on the south side of 95th street with fifteen (15) new steel poles. In addition, Atlantic City Electric is eliminating two (2) additional wood pole structures completely. Four structures on 95th street are 24” – 28.5” in diameter. The remaining structures on 95th street are 17” – 20” in diameter.

  8. Will the poles be as larger as the structures crossing the Garden State Parkway on Stone Harbor Boulevard?

    The poles for the wires crossing the Garden State Parkway are taller than all structures and larger than the vast majority of structures in Stone Harbor due to the required clearances over the travel lanes of the Garden State Parkway.

  9. How does ACE plan to monitor the vibrations associated with construction?

    The vibration monitoring will include placement of seismographs with geophones that record peak particle velocities of motion. New Jersey Administrative Code (NJAC) Chapter 12:190 Section 7.26 (Ground Vibration) based on the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) and U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) standards will be used to establish vibration tolerance, both PPV and frequency to establish a threshold for structural damage as a result of ground borne vibration. Seismographs will be placed as close to the property lines (ROW) as possible between the work equipment and adjacent existing residences along 95th Street and Hallman Road. See attached testing procedure from Craig Testing Laboratories.

  10. How does ACE plan to address any damage to properties associated with this project?

    11. While ACE does not anticipate any damage to properties, any property damage issues would be handled to ACE’s Claims Department. The Claims Department would review the property damage claim, investigate the cause, and process the claim accordingly once the review has been completed. ACE would be responsible for any damaged that is deemed to have been caused by this project’s construction activities.

  11. What is the claims process for any damage to my process?

    • Claimant would place a claim through our customer service # 1-800-642-3780.
    • Once the report from customer service is received, the claim would be set up and assigned to an Adjuster.
    • The Adjuster would contact the claimant within 72 business hours.
    • If needed, the Adjuster would make an appointment to inspect the alleged damages.
    • If the alleged damages are extensive, we would have Crawford & Co. do an appraisal.
    • The Adjuster will then make a determination of liability based on the investigation.
    • If ACE is deemed liable, we would require the claimant obtain an estimate of repair/replacement.
    • The estimate would be reviewed and compared to Crawford’s appraisal to reach a settlement.
    • Payment would be processed through the Atlantic City Electric Claims Department

  12. Has the project gone through regulatory approval with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of Public Utilities?

    The projects have been approved by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. BPU approval is not required for this project.

    THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED TO THE BOROUGH OF STONE HARBOR BY ATLANTIC CITY ELECTRIC AND IS BEING POSTED HERE AS A COURTESY TO OUR RESIDENTS.  THE ANSWERS IN THIS “Q&A” DO NOT COME FROM THE BOROUGH OF STONE HARBOR AND ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO VERONICA “RONNIE” TOWN @609-463-3805 OR veronica.town@atlanticcityelectric.com