Lewes’ planned power outages reduced to one
Delmarva Power will now only require one, not three, planned power outages in Lewes as part of a project to relocated transmission lines.
The lone outage is scheduled to happen for midnight to 4 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 5.
BPW General Manager Austin Calaman said all BPW customers in the City of Lewes will be impacted by the outage.
Delmarva Power spokesman Zach Chizar said 225 of its customers in the Lewes area will be impacted.
Calaman said Delmarva Power was able to reduce the number of planned outages by hiring a contractor to do the work while the lines are still in service, a process known as hot line or hot tap.
The Lewes BPW sent out an update to all of its customers and included tips on how to protect electronics from power surges when the electricity comes back on.
Delmarva Power said the outage is necessary to relocate a transmission line on Savannah Road. The work is part of DelDOT’s Old Orchard Road relocation project.
DelDOT plans to realign Old Orchard Road with Wescoats Road, creating a new four-way signalized intersection. The project also includes a roundabout and realignment of Marsh, Westcoats and Clay roads.
DelDOT’s website says the project is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
For more information on the outages, go to lewesbpwde.gov.
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, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
