Atlantic City Electric filed a request with the state Board of Public Utilities to increase its revenue by $78.9 million, a rate boost that could increase the typical residential bill by as much as $11.73 a month.
The filing is the latest by a New Jersey utility to ramp up investments in its power grid, systems that have been severely tested and compromised during extreme storms in the past few years.
The company also said it will seek approval of a grid-resiliency plan, dubbed PowerAhead. If approved by the commission, Atlantic City plans to invest $176 million over five years to modernize its system and make it more resilient to storms like Hurricane Sandy.
“In order to further improve our electric system and continue providing quality service, it’s important that we invest in new infrastructure and upgrade our existing electrical systems,” said Vince Maione, region president of Atlantic City Electric.
It is an investment that the BPU has strongly encouraged in the wake of powerful storms that left millions of customers without power, some for as long as two weeks. The agency has generally approved rate increases supporting projects to increase reliability, not only by the electric utilities but also by gas companies.