As any Long Beach Islander will tell you, the Fourth of July is one of the busiest times of the year down the shore. This year the surge in visitors coincided with a record-breaking heatwave. Day after day, holiday crowds packed the community, temperatures skyrocketed, and electricity demand rose sharply across the entire region, reaching near-record levels.

Times like these – when an energy grid is being pushed to its limits – were among the chief reasons Atlantic City Electric constructed a…