At Pepco Holdings, we strive to provide safe, reliable, and affordable service to our customers and the communities we serve. As part of this effort, all Pepco Holdings utilities including Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva Power, and Pepco, are modernizing the electric system, and installing new technology that is helping to reduce outages and enhance service for customers.

Enhancing the Electric System

As hurricane season approaches, we perform essential work to prepare our local electric systems to keep homes and businesses warm. This work includes inspecting and upgrading equipment across the electric transmission and distribution systems like switches and poles, and trimming trees, which cause about 40 percent of power outages for customers each year.

Each year, we make investments to modernize and enhance the electric system for our customers. This work has resulted in fewer power outages. And if outages did occur, they were restored faster than before.

The Power of an Extended Network

Keeping our core promise to customers is an ongoing process, requiring work, investment, and advanced planning, especially when the weather takes a turn for the worse and puts extra pressure on our grid.

Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva Power, and Pepco now have the added strength and availability of additional resources as members of the Exelon family of companies should a severe hurricane impact any of our service territories.

As an Exelon company, we share best practices with our sister utilities – BGE, ComEd, and PECO – and participate in collaborative emergency response training exercises to ensure we can provide seamless support and resources during a storm or emergency restoration effort.

Safety/Emergency Preparedness

Safety is a core value for all Exelon companies, and is paramount in everything we do. To keep everyone as safe as possible, we work around the clock to prepare for emergency situations. We’re constantly working to improve how we coordinate with first responders and everyone impacted.

Our plans have been developed and enhanced over many years of working through storm and emergency situations. Because of the trusted partnerships we have established with public safety and emergency agencies, along with government and community stakeholders, we are prepared for the coming hurricane season.

We conduct emergency response drills and complete testing of computer and emergency systems as part of the storm preparedness program. Employees from across the companies, including those who work in the field and those who provide back office support, review emergency processes and procedures to help ensure safe and efficient response to storms.

Customer Preparedness

Just as we prepare for hurricane season, we encourage our customers to also be ready. Customers should:

• Assemble an emergency storm kit. Include a battery-powered radio or television, flashlight, a first-aid kit, battery-powered or windup clock, extra batteries, special-needs items, an insulated cooler, and a list of important and emergency phone numbers.
• Keep at least a three-day supply of nonperishable food and bottled water and have a hand-operated can opener available.
• Identify a safe alternate location in case of an extended outage.
• Tune in to local news broadcasts for the latest weather and emergency information.
• Follow the advice of local emergency management officials.
• Never operate a generator indoors.
• Stay away from downed wires and always assume they are energized.

“The work our utilities performed during the past few months is essential to our efforts to make our electric systems more resilient and less vulnerable to storm damage,” said Dave Velazquez, president and CEO, Pepco Holdings. “We will continue to make investments over the next several years to upgrade and modernize our infrastructure, as well as trimming trees and other preventative maintenance work, to further improve service reliability for our customers.”

Seasonal preparedness is our communal responsibility. The customers we serve have our commitment that we will do our part each day to be ready throughout hurricane season. Our employees work safely and diligently to make the necessary enhancements to our energy grid so customers can continue to receive the quality of service they have come to expect now and in the future.