As part of our strategic effort to better serve our customers and modernize the local energy grid, we recently upgraded 14 miles of critical transmission line extending from our Vienna substation in Dorchester County, Md., to the Nelson Substation in Sussex County, Del.  

This ambitious project involved replacing over 100 wooden, 60-year-old structures with new, stronger steel utility poles, capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds up to 120 mph and upgrading associated energy equipment to support future capacity needs. The new, modern infrastructure is constructed above flood zones, and includes an underground transmission lead-in, significantly enhancing overall system reliability and resiliency.  

The completion of this project enables the retirement of the Indian River coal-fired power plant – the last coal-fired power plant in Delaware – which will eliminate the collection of the Reliability Must Run agreement and save nearly $100 million for approximately 551,000 customers over two years. These savings are over one-and-a-half times greater than the installed cost of the project. 

The completion of this project strengthens and modernizes our infrastructure and sets a new standard for resilience and efficiency in our energy grid. Customers will benefit from lower energy bills, improved system reliability and enhanced resiliency due to the elimination of capacity constraints.  

These efforts underscore our commitment to enhancing value to our customers, while promoting local economic growth. This is a testament to our strategic initiatives to maximize the impact of our investments by modernizing the energy grid, mitigating resource adequacy constraints and supporting carbon reduction.  

To learn more about our reliability improvement projects, click here.