Lewes’ planned power outage lasts longer than planned
Most people were supposed to sleep right through it, not even notice that power was out in the City of Lewes in the early morning hours of Oct. 5.
But, Delmarva Power ran into delays relocating transmission lines at Savannah and Wescoats roads, and the planned outage stretched into breakfast time.
“It was a long night, “ said Austin Calaman, Lewes Board of Public Works general manager.
Calaman said BPW had staff on duty starting at 10 p.m., Oct. 4, until the power came back on the next morning.
“The Delmarva Power contractors were working on a 69KV transmission line feeding the BPW, so the delay prevented us from coming back online until the work was complete and Delmarva provided the go-ahead,” Calaman said.
“Unfortunately, due to construction delays, extended outages resulted for Delmarva Power customers and residents of Lewes served by the Board of Public Works,” Delmarva Power wrote in a statement Oct. 5. “Some customers were restored at 4:55 a.m., and the remaining restored by 7:55 a.m. We know the extended outages caused an inconvenience as the community started their morning and appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience as our crews worked safely and as quickly as possible to complete this necessary work.”
At midnight, contractors were working on the lines high above Savannah and Wescoats roads.
They flipped the switch, and Savannah Road, Kings Highway and the rest of Lewes were plunged into darkness. Beebe Healthcare was running on backup power and was one of the few places in town that had lights.
“We followed our plan and protocols to maintain safe, quality care for our patients, which was our No. 1 goal,” said Beebe spokesman Ryan Marshall.
Prior to the outage, BPW said the entire city would be affected. Delmarva Power said 225 of its customers outside city limits would be impacted.
Delmarva Power contractors had to do the power line work as part of DelDOT’s Old Orchard Road realignment project, which is expected to be completed in 2026.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
