Going Solar in ACE Territory
560,000 customers across South Jersey — Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester, plus the southern edges of Burlington, Camden, and Ocean. The territory I do my best Shore-roof work in.
Where ACE Serves
Atlantic City Electric is an Exelon-owned utility with roughly 560,000 customers across most of South Jersey.
ACE's territory covers zip codes within Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean, and Salem counties. The eight-county footprint reaches north into Burlington/Camden/southern Ocean, east to the Atlantic, south to Cape May, and west to the Delaware River. Cumberland County is fully ACE; Cape May is fully ACE. The big urban anchors are Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton, Atlantic City, and the Wildwoods. Shore-side work in this territory was a big part of my first decade in the business.
ACE's Interconnection Rules
ACE runs interconnection through its Green Power Connection (GPC) team and the My GPC application portal. Same NJ three-tier framework.
| Item | ACE Detail |
|---|---|
| Tariff / portal | atlanticcityelectric.com/MyGPC — My Green Power Connection portal. |
| Level 1 (up to 10 kW) | No application fee. Inverter-based, no storage. Standard residential pathway. |
| Level 2 (up to 2,000 kW) | $50 application + $1 per kW. |
| Level 3 (larger / non-certified equipment, or with storage) | $100 application + $2 per kW. |
| Typical timeline | ACE typically completes interconnection approval ~22 days after install; total path from contract to PTO is roughly 8–12 weeks. |
| Residential system cap | Up to 25 kW for residential service, sized to annual consumption. |
| Net metering rate | Full retail credit at ACE PTC $0.182/kWh through . Monthly rollover, annual true-up at wholesale. |
| 2026 rule update | BPU Docket QO21010085 modernized interconnection effective — dispute resolution, pre-application feasibility, mandatory web portal. |
South Jersey homes get high sun exposure but also higher salt corrosion at the Shore. Make sure your installer specs marine-grade mounting hardware in any zip starting with 082xx (Cape May/Wildwood) and 084xx (Atlantic City barrier islands). I check this on every Shore quote.
What You Earn in ACE Territory
SREC-II / ADI
$76–95 per MWh for 15 years. Statewide program — ACE customers participate the same as the rest of NJ. ~$760–950/year on a typical 8 kW system.
Net Metering 1:1
Full retail credit at ACE PTC $0.182/kWh through Aug 31, 2026. Better credit value than JCP&L; lower than PSE&G.
0% Sales Tax + 0% Property Tax
NJ state law applies in ACE territory. Saves ~$1,740 at install; no property tax assessment from added home value.
Solar Loan + Community Solar
ACE participates in NJ's Community Solar program. Useful for renters and shaded roofs — the bill credit transfers to your account.
Note: no residential ACE TOU rate in 2026
Unlike PSE&G's RS-TOU-3P (June 1, 2026 launch), ACE does not have an active residential Time-of-Use tariff in 2026. The Shore battery conversation in this territory is about outage hardening (nor'easter season, summer thunderstorm cells) rather than TOU arbitrage. I run that math separately on every Shore quote.
ACE Rates — 2025 → 2026
The flattest rate trajectory of any NJ utility this year. Some clients in Cumberland County saw their first stable bill cycle in three years.
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| BGS auction-driven hike effective June 2025 raised the ACE supply portion in line with NJ's 17%+ statewide jump. | ACE rate increase notice | |
| 2026 BGS auction results: ACE residential bill (650 kWh/mo) impact is +$0.22 (+0.11%) effective . The mildest move in the state. | NJ BIZ, 2/12/2026 | |
| Current PTC residential rate: $0.182/kWh through . Mid-pack among NJ utilities. | ACE rate snapshot, March 2026 |
Gotchas I Warn Every ACE Client About
- Salt-air corrosion at the Shore. Zip 082xx (Cape May, Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Sea Isle) and 084xx (Atlantic City barrier islands, Ventnor, Margate, Brigantine) need stainless-steel mounting hardware and dielectric grease at every electrical connection. Cheap aluminum will pit within five years. I never let an installer skip this.
- Wind-load zones. South Jersey coastal zones are 130+ mph wind-load areas. Your installer's structural engineer must reference the right ASCE 7 zone for your zip — mistakes show up at the township permit stage and cost weeks. I review the structural letter on every Shore quote.
- Rural Cumberland/Salem permitting. Township building departments can be slow (3–6 weeks just on permit) and inconsistent on ground-mount setbacks. I have a short list of installers who know the rural South Jersey building officials by name.
- Lower retail rate than PSE&G. ACE's $0.182/kWh is below PSE&G's ~$0.26. The math still works — particularly with SREC-II — but payback is roughly 1–2 years longer than the same system on PSE&G. Don't let an installer use PSE&G's rate in your pro forma.
- "My GPC" portal hand-offs. The ACE Green Power Connection portal is solid, but mid-application changes (panel count, inverter swap) reset the clock. Lock the design before submission — I check this for every client.
- Net metering ends at the wholesale-rate true-up. If you size too big, the annual excess gets cashed out at PJM wholesale (~$0.04–0.06/kWh) instead of retail. I size systems at 100–110% of annual usage, not 120%+.
Ready to See Your ACE Numbers?
Shore home? Vineland/Millville? Wildwood rental? I'll run the math for your specific zip and tell you whether solar + battery is about ROI or about outage protection in your case.