Close Menu
Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette Logo Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette

410-723-6397

Good decision to update Berlin area utility poles

Besides the constant chill of last winter, snow on the ground and doing everything possible to stay warm, many remember how Delmarva Power employees were out there every day after well into the dark of night replacing Ocean City’s wooden utility poles with new, galvanized steel replacements along Coastal Highway.
The 90-foot-poles can withstand winds up to 120 m.ph., according to Delmarva power.
So Berlin and West Ocean City, this winter is your turn. The utility company will be replacing all of its 65 wooden poles between the Worcester Substation on Old Ocean City Boulevard and Route 50 and the West Ocean City substation on Golf Course Road with the 80-90-foot poles.
While we drive by many times the workers installing and then wiring the poles, we should all be prepared for one small block of inconvenience. That could be on December 9 when Delmarva Power will need to shut down power for a four to six-hour window of interruption. We can also expect that he power shutdown will occur during the early morning hours when most are sleeping, between midnight and five a.m.
The power interruption will impact more than 2,400 Berlin customers and more than 11,000 Delmarva Power customers.
Like the Ocean City poles, those to be installed in and around Berlin will also be able to withstand winds up to 120 mph. Also, as it was said at Monday evening’s Town Council meeting, most of the existing electrical poles and infrastructure were put in place over 50 years ago.
This is going to be a big project, but we think that for the minor inconvenience of one scheduled power outage, the short and long-term benefit will be welcome to Berlin, especially as the town begins to grow both as a residential and a commercial destination.