Customers, Politicians Bash BGE for Power Outages

About 22 people from around Maryland criticized Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s (BGE) performance after the June 29 derecho storm at a public meeting in Annapolis on Monday night.

Lindsay Dodd spoke on behalf Delegate Cathy Vitale, who was reportedly out of power for five days. She said that 18 residents in Severna Park were told their power had been restored every time they called BGE.

"I know one family lost two of their pets because of extreme heat," Dodd said.

She added that Vitale is drafting legislation that would stop utility companies from charging for power when it's actually out at a home (i.e., bill-stabilization adjustments).

"It's unfair to ask customers pay for power they are not using," she said.

The two-hour meeting was the third of eight scheduled by Maryland's Public Services Commission—the regulating body for utility companies in the state. The meetings are part of the commission's investigation into how well utility companies worked to restore power after the derecho.

Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold read a prepared statement on where he thought BGE could improve its relationship with local governments.

He focused mainly on Anne Arundel County's desire for more accurate and up-to-date outage information "so that we can have real time information so that people will know exactly when they are in the queue for having their power restored."

"I think BGE could do a much more effective job in providing that kind of communication," Leopold said.

The lone voice in support of the utility company came from Davidsonville resident Erin Minich.

"I don’t think there is anyone really to blame expect Mother Nature," Minich said. "I personally feel that maybe BGE needs to be cut some slack on this specific storm. I know my popularity just went down big in this room."

BGE spokesman Rob Gould sat toward the back of the room listening to the comments. He said the complaints are in line with what the company has already heard.

Gould said the installation of will help BGE provide better information to local governments and customers because his company will be able to ping each meter to see if a house has power. 

One of the repeated complaints by commentators was frustration over a lack of knowledge about when power would be restored. Gould said after Tropical Storm Irene, BGE customers reported they would prefer worst case scenario timelines rather than a series of changing estimates.

"It's almost like surgery," Gould said. "It looks like it will take us 'X' long, but until we get in and open up the patient, we're really not going to be able to tell you. It could go longer."

In June, a destroyed transformer near Baltimore took the company about four days to repair—well beyond initial estimates.

Gould also blamed modern technology saying it created an expectation that information should always be available immediately. The smart meters will improve communication times, but Gould said there will always be a certain amount of lag between the time a disaster hits, and the time information becomes available.

"The gap between expectations and the reality of restoration continues to widen," Gould said. "As that gap continues to widen, frustrations will continue to grow."

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