Board to review Atlantic City Electric's storm response

TRENTON (AP) — New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities is reviewing Atlantic City Electric's response to a recent power failure that affected about 280,000 people.

An Atlantic City Electric employee makes repairs to a utility pole (ACE)

The review comes after lawmakers wrote the agency to complain about the utility's response to the storm. But a spokesman for the board tells NJ.com such a review is standard protocol.

A spokesman for the utility says the company will perform its own internal review and will work with the state agency to address any questions.

Atlantic City Electric spokesman Frank Tedesco said the utility restored power to more than 100,000 customers within a day of the storm and had 1,600 personnel in the field to address the failure.

"Atlantic City Electric's top priority is to restore service to customers as safely and quickly as possible," Tedesco said. "As is the case with every major weather event, we will perform a comprehensive internal review of our processes to find ways to improve our efficiency and our communications."

Tuesday's storm knocked out power to southern New Jersey residents and resulted in legislators' calling on Gov. Chris Christie to declare a state of emergency.

Christie has said he and other state officials were monitoring and responding to the storm but that an emergency declaration wasn't warranted.