Exhibit 99
Contact: Conectiv Investor Relations
Bob Marshall 302-429-3114
Media Relations  
Ted Caddell, Delmarva 302-429-3264
Mary Rucci, Atlantic 609-645-4714

For Immediate Release Feb. 26, 1998

Delmarva/Atlantic Merger approved by SEC, Merger expected to
close March 1

Wilmington, DE and Egg Harbor Township, NJ - The merger involving
Delmarva Power & Light Company and Atlantic Energy, Inc. has
cleared the final regulatory hurdle in the companies  plan to
combine under a common holding company named Conectiv. 

The federal Securities and Exchange Commission approved the
merger under the Public Utility Holding Company Act in a written
order dated February 25, 1998. With the SEC approval, the merger
is expected to be effective March 1.  The approval by the SEC
follows numerous federal and state regulatory approvals,
including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the public utility commissions
of Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. 
The merger was originally announced August 1996. 

With the completion of the merger, it is expected that shares of
Conectiv Common Stock and Conectiv Class A Common Stock will
begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 2.  The
ticker symbol for Conectiv Common Stock is CIV, and CIV.A will be
the symbol for Conectiv Class A stock.  The merger will have no
effect on Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric Company
preferred stock, or on either company s debt securities.

"Completion of the merger will allow Conectiv to reduce its rates
upon closing by over 1 percent to more than 1 million customers
in our region," said Howard E. Cosgrove, Conectiv s Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer.  "These accomplishments will be made
while continuing to provide superior customer care and service
reliability.  The shareholders of Conectiv will also realize
long-term benefits from a larger, competitively well-positioned
provider of energy, telecommunications and related products for
homes and businesses in the Mid-Atlantic region. Conectiv will
continue the tradition of building and maintaining community
partnerships which Delmarva Power and Atlantic Electric are known
for."

While the parent company will be named "Conectiv", for the time
being the regulated utilities will be operated under their
traditional names Delmarva Power and Atlantic Electric.
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Conectiv will have operating revenues of over $2.5 billion and
serve more than 1 million electric customers and over 100,000 gas
customers in Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey.  Following the
merger and other internal restructuring, Conectiv will have about
3,400 employees in its core businesses. Corporate headquarters
will be  located in Wilmington, Delaware.  A major operations
facility will be constructed in Salem County, New Jersey.

Operations that will carry the "Conectiv" name include Conectiv
Energy (retail energy),  Conectiv Communications
(telecommunications), Conectiv Solutions (energy services) and
Conectiv Services (HVAC).  A district heating/cooling company
named Atlantic Thermal Systems will soon change to Conectiv
Thermal Systems. These five operations have nearly 100,000
customers.

Conectiv Officers and Directors
As previously announced, the chairman and CEO of Conectiv will be
Howard E. Cosgrove.  Jerrold L. Jacobs will serve as Vice
Chairman.  Other key officers are Meredith I. Harlacher, Jr.,
President of Conectiv and head of the Energy Delivery group;
Thomas S. Shaw, Executive Vice President of Conectiv and head of
the Energy Supply group, Barry R. Elson, Executive Vice President
of Conectiv and head of the Enterprises group, and Barbara S.
Graham, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of
Conectiv .

The Board of Directors of Conectiv is made up of six directors
from Atlantic Energy and eight directors from Delmarva Power. 
The directors are: Howard E. Cosgrove, Jerrold L. Jacobs, Bernard
J. Morgan, Cyrus T. Holley, Richard B. McGlynn, Dr. Harold J.
Raveche, Kathleen MacDonnell, Michael G. Abercrombie, R. Franklin
Ballotti, Robert D. Burris, Audrey K. Doberstein, Michael B.
Emery, Sarah I. Gore and Weston E. Nellius.  


Dividend information
It is anticipated that Conectiv initially will pay an annual
dividend of $1.54 per share on its Common Stock and $3.20 per
share annually on the Class A Common Stock, subject to final
determination by the Conectiv Board of Directors.  The Board s
determination will be based upon Conectiv s results of
operations, financial condition, capital requirements and other
relevant considerations.

The Bank of New York has been selected as transfer agent and
registrar for Conectiv stock.

Conectiv s internet address is http://www.conectiv.com