PECO Project to Begin at the End of the Month

The project to improve electric service to downtown Doylestown is expected to hit Main Street by the end of the month.

PECO is expected to begin the third phase of its service improvement plan for the borough by the end of March. The work should be wrapped up by about May 15, PECO spokeswoman Liz Williamson said Monday.

During the six-week project, PECO workers will install about half a mile's worth of new electric cables under Main Street. Williamson said the work will take place on both sides of the street from Oakland Avenue up to Broad Street.

The cables will be laid in the street, about 18 to 24 inches out from the curb, Williamson said. Traffic will be affected, but the utility will work with the borough to minimize impact, she said.

Work will be done one section at a time, Williamson said, and traffic is expected to remain open in both directions.

The new cable is needed to upgrade Doylestown's electric infrastructure, according to PECO.

"Part of what we’re doing is analyzing the customer needs in the borough and the load on the system," Williamson said. "We’ve determined that to keep pace with customer needs, we’re going to replace 2,500 feet of underground cable."

The work will be done within a window from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Williamson said the company will work closely with borough leaders and area business owners to minimize the impact of the work, including any necessary power outages.

"If a business shuts down at, say, 5 p.m., we could coordinate the nearby work from 5 to 7 p.m.," Williamson said. "That window gives us options to coordinate with customers to minimize the impact to them and their business."

The cable installation is the third phase of the upgrade project in Doylestown.

In October, PECO replaced underground equipment and inspected manholes in the borough. Then, just before Thanksgiving, the company installed 26 junction boxes in the sidewalks, which will make it easier to repair underground equipment, when needed, Williamson said.

Monday night, PECO representative Ted Dorand briefed the public works committee of Doylestown Borough Council on the project.

"They are working with businesses to avoid the outage issues we had last year," council president Det Ansinn said after the meeting. "PECO appears to be making progress, but Council and the Public Works committee are keeping the pressure on."

Borough manager John Davis said last week that the project "will result in a very significant upgrade that we’re very pleased to see is happening."

This winter has been mild, but last year's ice and snow contributed to several power outages that frustrated downtown Doylestown business owners and residents.

The utility thought it had solved the issues, but as the power kept going out, pressure mounted on the company to fix the problem for good. As a result, PECO has spent months studying, testing, repairing and upgrading its equipment in Doylestown.