Give the Gift of Energy

The holiday season is almost here! Avoid the shopping frenzy and give your loved one a Gift of Energy instead. It is the simplest way to help a relative, friend, or colleague with their monthly expenses.

Giving a Gift of Energy is no different than making a payment on someone’s account. All you need is the customer’s name and address – not an account number – to purchase the Gift of Energy.

You can purchase a Gift of Energy for a customer at one of our Walk-In Service Centers (listed below), or on our website, where a Gift of Energy contact form is available. Once the form is submitted, a customer care representative will contact you and complete the transaction via telephone. We will also send you a free holiday greeting card that can be used to notify the customer of your generosity or you may keep the gift anonymous.

You can purchase the Gift of Energy at any of the following locations:

Wilmington
630 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Hours: Monday – Friday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

New Castle Regional
I-95 at Route 273 in Newark
Hours: Monday – Friday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Millsboro
700 E. DuPont Highway, Millsboro
Hours: Monday – Friday
9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

August 11 is National 811 Day

Are you planning a home improvement job such as planting a tree, installing a fence or building a deck? Before you start any digging project, big or small, you need to call 811.

Providing safety is our top priority. We want to remind our customers to call 811 a few days before they start any digging project. Failure to do so may result in injury, repair costs, fines and outages. An underground utility line is damaged every eight minutes because someone decided to dig without first calling 811, according to Common Ground Alliance data.

By calling 811, we are notified of your intent to dig and can send somebody out to mark the locations of your underground lines. Always call a few days before you start to allow time for the request to be processed.

For more information, visit our Call Before You Dig page.

10 Electrical Safety Tips for Children

May is National Electrical Safety Month, so we would like to remind you how important it is to follow safety precautions and educate children about the dangers of misusing electricity and electrical devices. Here are a few safety tips for you and your children to always keep in mind:

1. Place safety covers over unused electric outlets to make sure your child does not stick their finger (or any other object) into the outlet

2. Do not let your child touch wires lying on the ground, or inside the house.

3. Keep balloons, kites and other toys away from overhead lines

4. Make sure your kite is made of wood, plastic or paper – never metal, foil or wire

5. Keep electric appliances at least 10 feet away from swimming pools

6. Never touch anything electrical with wet hands

7. Never unplug an appliance by pulling the cord

8. Never play around substations, utility towers or pad-mounted transformers (green metal boxes) or where “Danger: High Voltage” signs are posted

9. Never use electric appliances during a bath or shower, when standing near a sink or when standing in water

10. Never pour water on an electrical fire. If the home does not have an appropriate extinguisher (class A,B,C), use flour or baking soda

Visit our Safety Center page for more safety tips.

Delmarva Power Celebrates Earth Day 2013

To commemorate Earth Day, Delmarva Power and its employees will be volunteering and participating in a variety of events hosted by community organizations, schools and civic groups to enhance and protect our valuable natural resources.

Investing in Our Communities; Planning for the Future

We’re actively planning for the future, making investments in our infrastructure to keep pace with the growth in demand for electricity.

We continue to implement our reliability improvement efforts. We have identified and prioritized areas in our system where upgrades to critical infrastructure will enhance and maintain service to customers.

During the last five years, we have invested millions of dollars in transmission and distribution upgrades on the Delaware peninsula. In the next five years, we’ll spend approximately $1.5 billion more.

Improvement projects across the service area include:

• Upgrading priority feeders and substations
• Trimming 1,600 miles of tree-lined roadways
• Replacing, renewing and building new power lines
• Expanding customer service efforts
• Upgrading the manual collection of distribution system information to digital technology

Electricity is an essential part of everyone’s lives. It’s a necessity, not a luxury, and we are committed to providing reliable, safe electric service to all of our customers.

Combat Energy Vampires During Energy Awareness Month

While October is better known for hayrides and Halloween, it is also National Energy Awareness Month. However, Halloween and Energy Awareness Month do have something spooky in common: Vampires. You may not know it, but there are probably a number of vampires lurking in your home: electronic devices that appear to be switched off, but in reality are sucking energy with little benefit to you.

Whether your cellphone charger is frequently left plugged into the wall or your computer or video game consoles are kept in standby mode, many of your devices may draw energy when they are not in use. While one individual electronic device may only draw a little power when it’s in standby mode, the total number of devices drawing energy when they are not in use can account for almost 10% of your household energy use.

You can save money and energy by unplugging electronics when they are not in use or by using a power strip to multiple devices on and (completely) off. When purchasing new electronics, you can also look for low-standy Energy Star products. This season, a careful look around your home might reveal some significant energy savings, and rid your home of energy vampires.

To learn more about ways to save energy in your home, visit: http://www.delmarva.com/energy/conservation/

Happy Halloween!

Save Money on Your Energy Bill by Planting Trees

As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting energy conservation and protecting the environment, we’re working with the Arbor Day Foundation to provide 3,000 free trees to customers.  The types of trees offered include the following: Washington hawthorn, white dogwood, bald cypress, American beech, hackberry, river birch and sugar maple.

By planting trees strategically, you can save up to 20% on your energy bills. In addition to energy savings, trees provide many tangible benefits for your community, including improved air quality, reduced stormwater runoff, a lower urban heat island affect and a reduced carbon footprint. Furthermore, planting the “right tree in the right place” can help prevent tree-related power outages caused by tree limbs touching or falling onto power lines during storms or strong winds.

To request a tree and learn more about reducing your household electricity bills through strategic tree planting, visit www.arborday.org/delmarvatrees. The website also provides an online tool to help you find the best place to plant trees and calculate the amount you could save on your electricity bills for the year. Enrolled customers will have a two-to-four foot tall tree delivered right to their house at an ideal time for planting. The program will continue until all 3,000 trees are reserved.

For more information on ways to save energy, you can also visit our website to find energy-saving tips  and learn about our energy saving programs.

Wes McNealy
Director, Environmental Services

September is National Preparedness Month

Delmarva Power is an active participant is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Ready Campaign, and in recognition of National Preparedness Month, I would like to share with you some tips on preparing for emergencies and what to do if you lose power.

Emergencies can range from inconvenient to devastating, and they can happen at any time. However, by taking some simple steps to prepare in advance, you can minimize their impact and make a big difference in ensuring the safety and well-being of you and your family.

Preparing for Emergencies

To prepare for emergency situations, I encourage you to assemble an emergency kit that contains the following items:

• Flashlight, hand-held radio and battery powered clock with extra batteries for each device
• Basic first aid kit,
• Ice pack for cooling or first aid,
• Insulated cooler
• List of important and emergency contact numbers
• A three-day supply of nonperishable food
• A three-day supply of bottled water (one gallon per household member per day)

Keep this kit in a safe, dry place where you can easily locate it. Many people store these items next to or inside their coolers to save storage space. It’s a good idea to keep extra medications and/or infant supplies, and personal hygiene products such as diapers and toilet paper handy. I also recommend having a telephone with a cord or cell phone to use as backup – cordless telephones require electricity to operate, so they don’t work if there is an outage.

As part of your preparation, it’s important to know what you and your family will do in an emergency situation. Ready.gov provides a helpful template for you to make a plan and share it with each family member. In addition, if you or a family member needs power for critical medical equipment, you should have a contingency plan of where to go if you lose power. You can also register with our Emergency Medical Equipment Notification Program, which provides registered customers with advance notice of scheduled outages and severe weather alerts.

What to do if a storm is coming

Emergencies are often unexpected, but in cases where you have advanced notice of a potential emergency event such as a blizzard or a hurricane, you may wish to make these additional preparations:

• Keep cash on hand, as electric ATMs or credit card readers may lose power
• If your home is served by well water, fill a bathtub with water for sanitation use.
• Review these food safety guidelines and make or purchase extra ice
• Charge electronic devices and make sure that they are plugged into surge protectors
• Tune in to local news broadcasts for the latest weather and emergency information.
• Follow the advice of your local emergency management officials.

What to do if the lights go out

If you lose power during an emergency situation, remember to report all outages and downed wires to Delmarva Power at 1-800-898-8042 (New Castle County, DE and Cecil and Harford Counties, MD) or 1-800-898-8045 (Kent and Sussex Counties, DE and the Eastern Shore of Maryland), online at delmarva.com, or by downloading our mobile app at delmarva.com/mobileapp.  If you or a family member rely on life-supporting equipment, make plans to relocate to a location with power as soon as it is safe to move.

Lastly, stay away from downed power lines and treat them as if they are energized, and steer clear of utility crews working in the street. For more information about emergency preparedness, I encourage you to visit: Ready.gov.

Have a safe and enjoyable fall season.

Mike Nappi
Supervisor, Safety Services

Join Delmarva Power at the 26th Annual Coastal Cleanup

Delmarva Power is partnering with environmental, governmental and business organizations throughout the region to support the 26^th Annual Coastal Cleanup. As the primary corporate sponsor of the event for the last 22 years, we are committed to turning the tide against trash and debris along area beaches and riverbanks, and we hope you will join us at one of the cleanup events in your area.

Volunteers are needed to clean up more than 50 locations, including several locations in our area that are listed below. Most cleanups will occur on Saturday, Sept. 15, while others will take place on other dates in September and October.

In last year’s cleanup, more than 2,700 volunteers collected an estimated 31,000 pounds of trash. Unusual items collected last year included a BMX bicycle, woman’s wig, flag pole, car bumper, keyboard, rain gutter and kitchen counter top. Typical items found included cigar and cigarette butts, beverage containers, plastic bags and balloons with attached strings or ribbons. Balloons, strings and ribbons pose a serious health threat to animals and aquatic life which can mistake balloons for food and become entangled in the strings and ribbons. Delaware also introduced recycling as part of the cleanup last year, with volunteers separating trash from recyclables.

Coastal Cleanup is part of the International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by Ocean Conservancy, an organization that works to protect the world’s oceans.

2012 Coastal Cleanup Locations, Times, Dates & Contacts

Delaware (more than 40 sites) – 9 a.m., 9/15/12 Joanna Wilson or Rachel Coats

302-739-9902

www.dnrec.delaware.gov

New Jersey (2 sites)

Gandy’s Beach

Cumberland County – 2:30 p.m.., 9/15/12 Moses Katkowski, 609-861-4126

Atlantic County – 9 a.m., 10/20/12 Tavia Danch, 732-872-0111

Maryland (8 sites)

Beaverdam Creek, Salisbury – 9 a.m., 9/8/12 Mary Seemann, 410-860-6880

Terri Bernard, 410-742-4988, ext. 109

Assateague Island – 9 a.m., 9/15/12 Jim Rapp, 443-614-0261

Ocean City – 10 a.m., 9/15/12 Gail Blazer, 410-289-8221

Nanticoke River

Nanticoke (Roaring Point) – 9 a.m., 9/15/12 Judith Stribling, 410-548-4767

Beth Wasden, 443-944-1175

Nassawango Creek, Snow Hill – 9 a.m., 9/16/12 Joe Fehrer, Jr., 410-430-1743

Janes Island State Park, Crisfield – 8:30 a.m., 9/15/12 Ranger John Somers, 410-968-1565

Pocomoke River, Snow Hill – 9 a.m., 9/22/12 Ron Pilling, 410-632-3971

Kim Klump, 410-726-3090

Mayfield Park, Elkridge –9 a.m., 9/22/12 Sue Muller, 410-313-4697

(This location already has a full quota of volunteers.)

Join Delmarva Power to Celebrate Earth Day!

This Sunday marks the 42nd annual Earth Day. Delmarva Power employees will be supporting and participating in events in both our Delaware and Maryland service regions – we hope that you join us!

Kid’s Greenfest at Newark Center for Creative Learning (NCCL) School
Saturday, April 21, 2012, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
401 Phillips Avenue, Newark, DE 19711

2nd Annual Delaware Nature Society Earth Day Festival
Saturday, April 21, 2012, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
DuPont Environmental Education Center , Wilmington Riverfront
1400 Delmarva Lane, Wilmington, DE 19801
(Participants are also invited to register for the Christina River Watershed Cleanup at 9:00 a.m.)

Earth Day at the Salisbury Zoo
Saturday, April 21, 2012,
9:00 a.m. 5K “Zoo Stampede” Run/Walk, Earth Day Events 10:00 a.m. –  4:00 p.m.
755 South Park Drive, Salisbury, MD
(Come early, we will be giving customers free tree seedlings and CFLs while supplies last!)

At Delmarva Power, we take our commitment to the environment seriously. Our business is to deliver safe, reliable and affordable electricity and natural gas to our customers, and we work hard to protect the environment. We are investing in renewable energy by contracting to receive up to 350 megawatts of wind power, as well as approximately 70% of the solar power produced at the 10-megawatt Dover SUN Park solar farm.

In addition, we have been installing nesting platforms near power lines to keep ospreys safe by discouraging them from building nests on the company’s high-voltage equipment for almost 25 years. These nesting platforms provide a safer place for ospreys to raise their young and eliminate power outages that occur when the birds and nesting materials contact high-voltage conductors. Delmarva Power has also been recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation for environmentally responsible vegetation management, while we have been a sponsor of the annual Coastal Clean-up for the past 21 years.

To learn more about Delmarva Power’s commitment to the environment, visit http://www.delmarva.com/energy/environment/. To learn more about how you can reduce your environmental impact by saving energy, visit http://www.delmarva.com/energy/conservation/tips/.

Dana Small
Environmental Services Manager