New Jersey has apparently had enough of the former Revel Atlantic City casino sitting in the dark.
The state issued an order to ACR Energy and the building’s owner extending a temporary agreement between them to keep the power on at the casino. That temporary agreement—reached after the 47-story Revel tower had gone without power for three weeks—was set to expire last week.
The order was issued by the state Department of Community Affairs and requires that “the level of power currently being supplied to the Revel Casino and Resort property remain adequate for the continued operation of all required fire prevention and suppression systems.”
The DCA’s order was delivered by the state Attorney General’s office and indefinitely extends that agreement. That deal reportedly had building owner paying $262,500 for two weeks of power at the building.
ACR Energy—which owns the power plant that supplies the former casino energy—and the property’s new owner Glen Straub have been fighting over the building’s power supply since Straub bought the casino last month.
ACR is seeking back power payments and repayment of its power plant’s $160 million construction cost—a deal it had with the casino’s former owner.
ACR quickly turned off the power at the building after Straub purchased it for $82 million and refused to deal with ACR. The building sat in the dark for three weeks until a temporary deal for two weeks of power was reached.
During that time, Atlantic City officials—saying there was no way the city’s fire department could fight a fire at the tower without the building’s fire suppression and water systems powered and working—fined Straub $5,000 a day that the power was off.
Under the DCA order, if power is turned off again, the state will issue a declaration of an “imminent hazard” and a violation of the Uniform Fire Safety Act against the owner of the property. The order requires that the owner correct any declared violation within 24 hours, according to a review by Philly.com.
The order also says that since ACR claims to “own” the electrical systems within the Revel property, it could be a target for a violation as a partial “owner.”
Straub told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he interpreted the order, which was addressed to both parties, to be aimed at ACR.
“It’s against the supplier,” he said. “The state’s attorney’s office told them not to turn anything off. We’ve got everything stabilized, and our own systems pretty much ready to go. They want the energy not to have any gaps.”
Straub also said he is continuing to search for an alternative energy source for the property.
Timothy Lowry, attorney for ACR Energy, however, told the paper that “Straub got hit with an Administrative Violation and Order to keep lights on.”
“Power will stay on,” Lowry added. He said ACR was still trying to interpret the order and said he thought that a violation may have been issued.
The ruling comes after another contentious week of fighting over the property as the temporary agreement was winding down.
A bankruptcy court filing by Straub’s Polo North Country Club—under which he owns the property—charges that forcing Straub to deal with ACR instead of seeking another supplier risks fatal plane crashes, massive fires and national disgrace. The plane crash risk would come from an aviation warning beacon on the tower not being powered.
The filing also claimed that ACR are “essentially squatters” since Straub now owns the land the ACR plant sits on.
ACR has received a temporary restraining order keeping Straub from hooking the building to another supplier, saying it owns about $40 million in electrical equipment in the building.
Straub is trying to lift that restraining order and a court hearing is scheduled for later this month.
