Imagine waking up to a winter wonderland, only to realize your power is out, and it might stay that way for days. That’s exactly what thousands of South Jersey residents faced after a brutal blizzard slammed the state. But here’s the silver lining: Atlantic City Electric is racing to restore power faster than expected, with most customers back online by Tuesday night and everyone else by Friday at the latest. Sounds like good news, right? But here’s where it gets controversial: Is this timeline ambitious enough, or should utilities be better prepared for extreme weather events? Let’s dive in.
The storm, which hit earlier this week, dumped tons of heavy, wet snow and unleashed winds topping 55 miles per hour, leaving over 90,000 homes and businesses in the dark by Monday evening. By Tuesday afternoon, the company had already restored power to more than 113,000 of its 130,000 affected customers—a massive feat, considering the scale of the damage. For those in the hardest-hit areas, relief is on the horizon, with officials promising a Friday deadline or sooner.
And this is the part most people miss: Atlantic City Electric has mobilized one of its largest field crews in recent years, with over 1,100 personnel working around the clock. This includes 200 internal employees, nearly 700 mutual assistance workers, and 240 tree crews—all dedicated to getting the lights back on. As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, crews were tackling outages affecting about 17,000 customers, primarily in Atlantic, Cape May, and Burlington Counties.
The company’s statement highlights the storm’s severity: ‘The historic blizzard brought significant amounts of heavy, wet snow and gusty winds, causing widespread damage across our service area.’ But is this enough to justify the outages? Here’s a thought-provoking question: Should utilities invest more in resilient infrastructure to prevent such disruptions, or is this level of response adequate for ‘once-in-a-decade’ storms?
For now, customers are urged to report outages and downed wires by calling 800-833-7476. As we wait for power to return, it’s worth considering: Are we prepared for the next big storm? Share your thoughts in the comments—let’s spark a conversation about how we can do better.
