Now special thanks and double snaps should go to Christine Vilardo of the Ardmore Initiative who has worked like us towards resolution of this latest issue in Ardmore with PECO. We will point out for the record that PECO and other utility companies need to keep pace with development and redevelopment. They can't just talk about it, they need to DO IT. What is below ground is obviously problematic or we wouldn't have problems. Below are some updates:

Main Line Times:Underground fire knocks out power

Fire crews from the Merion Fire Company of Ardmore responded to an underground fire last week that knocked out power to several businesses on the unit block of East Lancaster Avenue. Officials say an underground transformer caught fire about 5:30 p.m. last Thursday night. The fire was extinguished and cleared by 7 p.m. Because the fire was underground and due to heavy smoke, the basements of stores in the area were also checked and cleared for toxic fumes. Full power was restored to the area after about 12 hours.

And an update from AI:

News to Use from The Ardmore Initiative
www.ardmoreinitiative.org
610-645-0540

PECO Update: Although ongoing repairs are being made by PECO, we are aware that there was another outage recently. We have been in touch with Mr. Ralph Brown of PECO. He has informed us that there will be additional planned outages as PECO continues to make infrastructure improvements, although no dates have been set. He has also requested another community meeting, which the Initiative will host, to address your concerns. Stay tuned for more info regarding this meeting. In the meantime, it is important to inform PECO of any additional demand for electrical power your business may require (i.e.-if you have installed central air, additional fridges or freezers, considerable new equipment, etc)

Here's something else we learned that was sent to us:

PECO is currently reviewing the partial outage that occurred on Thursday 7/17/07 as a result of a equipment problem. A portion of the unit block of Lancaster Ave experienced a lost of one phase of there 3 phase service until repairs were completed on Friday 7/18/ 08.....PECO's engineering and planning group are reviewing what the scope of work should be for improvements in this area and they will make sure that there are discussions with the township, customers, etc when there is a better idea of what time frame is need to make the improvements and which customers could be impacted.

PECO Planning is considering the replacement of a bank of transformers in their underground vault in the area of 23 E. Lancaster. The transformer replacement work may require a scheduled outage that would need to coordinated with the local customers, businesses and the township. When the analysis and planning is completed they will be able to discuss what the recommendations are, who would be impacted by an outage and when would be the best time to do this work. It's undetermined as to what the timing of the work will be at this time.

If any business owners are reporting losses they can contact PECO claims hot line number @ 1-877-538-7768 for a form to register their claim and a claims representative will follow up with them.