Lewes ready for planned power outage Oct. 5
A planned power outage will send the City of Lewes into darkness overnight Wednesday into Thursday, Oct. 5.
Delmarva Power needs to shut off the electric while it relocates transmission lines on Savannah Road.
The work is part of the Delaware Department of Transportation’s Old Orchard Road realignment project.
The outage is scheduled from midnight to 4 a.m., Oct. 5.
Lewes Board of Public Works General Manager Austin Calaman said the outage will impact the entire city. He said BPW staff will be in the office during the outage to monitor systems and handle any issues that might come up.
Delmarva Power spokesman Zach Chizar said about 225 of its customers outside city limits will be impacted.
At a Sept. 27 BPW meeting, Board Chair Tom Panetta said his agency has had two meetings with Beebe Healthcare management to discuss the impact the outage will have on its operations.
Beebe spokesman Ryan Marshall said in a statement to the Cape Gazette, “Beebe Healthcare is prepared to care for our patients 24/7 in any incident and has a thorough process and safety system in place in the event of an emergency power loss as well as this planned outage. Our Emergency Management team has worked preemptively with Delmarva Power and the Board of Public Works to ensure that patient care is uninterrupted during this planned outage. We’re thankful to our partners for working with us to make this outage as seamless as possible for our team and patients.”
The City of Lewes website says anyone reliant on electrically powered medical devices, or any other health, life or safety equipment in their home or business should ensure backup provisions are made in advance to cover the outage period.
BPW sent a flier to its customers with tips on how to protect electronics from power surges. For more information, go to lewesbpwde.gov.
There were originally supposed to be three separate planned outages, but Delmarva Power was able to hire a contractor that could do some of the transmission line work while power is on.
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.
