Jeannette M. Mills VP, Customer Operations & Chief Customer Officer
 In the case of most summer or winter storms that cause outages, we regularly provide accurate estimated times of restoration (ETR) within a reasonable period. You can call our automated outage reporting system and check back for ETRs and updates. But, with storms that cause severe and widespread damage, like the June 29 “derecho” system or last summer’s hurricane, giving accurate regional and customer-specific restoration times can be extremely challenging.
We want to be able to give you an exact time when power will be restored, and we know you’re counting on it to make plans. When we can’t provide an ETR, it’s inconvenient and frustrating. What we can do is to explain the challenges created by severe impact storms that cause hundreds of thousands of outages, snap utility poles, uproot trees and snarl miles of wires.
Even with experienced damage assessment crews surveying the system, creating damage reports and job tickets, when field crews return to repair damage, they may find unexpected or new issues or more damage nearby. This impacts the original report and ETR, and keeps crews from transitioning to another job with its own ETR. As a consequence, with these severe impact storms, we are cautious about providing ETRs that may set unrealistic expectations for customers and compound disappointment and frustration.
We do make every attempt to provide a realistic assessment of the overall damage and let customers know when a storm is going to cause a multi-day restoration, as we did in the first few hours following Friday’s storm. We also follow and explain our storm strategy that, at its most basic level, starts with returning service to public safety facilities and then focuses on the backbone of the network and jobs that bring the most customers back online. As the restoration progresses, we also factor in duration, giving consideration where possible to customers who have been out of service the longest.
ETRs for storms that are beyond the norm are an industry-wide challenge and one everyone hopes to solve. BGE is working with other utilities in Maryland and nationwide to study and share best practices and find new solutions, including new smart grid technologies. We also encourage customers to think about and prepare for extended outages. Develop a personal plan for outages, and consider what steps you need to take to get through an event lasting multiple days. You can find helpful advice on what to do before, during and after a storm at BGE’s online storm center.
We thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we work through the rest of the more than 600,000 outages created by this severe storm, and will continue to provide updates on our progress.
Jeannette M. Mills VP, Customer Operations & Chief Customer Officer
 On Friday evening and into the early morning hours of Saturday, a sudden, fast-moving and violent thunderstorm system ripped through Maryland. In its wake was a path of destruction caused by the storm’s 60-70 mph winds and frequent lightning. Downed trees and limbs left the electric system severely damaged and 564,000 BGE customers without power, among an estimated 3 million power outages across the Mid-Atlantic. To put that into perspective, this storm caused more than two-thirds of the total outages caused by last summer’s Hurricane Irene.
Last night and early today we worked to assess the extensive damage and by Saturday evening we had restored power to nearly 200,000 customers. However, the sheer magnitude of the damage is expected to push restoration efforts deep into the week of July 2. We now have more than 1,200 BGE personnel actively working to restore power, and help is on the way from at least another 650 utility workers coming from Florida, Mississippi, Michigan, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Pennsylvania on Monday and Tuesday. We continue to request more assistance.
Restoration Plan
Our storm restoration plan begins with bringing public safety facilities back online—hospitals, 911 centers, water treatment and pumping facilities. We also focus on the backbone of our electric distribution system, our 33 kV feeders that, as the name implies, feed power to the rest of the electric distribution lines that serve our customers. Even as the storm was still in the area you may have seen our personnel assessing damages so that we could begin assigning crews to the jobs that will restore service to the greatest number of customers at one time. We also give consideration to customers who have been out of service the longest.
Although our employees are working as safely and  quickly as possible to restore your service, it takes significant amounts of time to work through as many outages as were caused by this storm. This is especially true when crews have to remove whole trees and limbs from tangled wires before they can begin to repair power lines and poles. We know that power outages can be frustrating and the recent extreme heat compounds this. We thank you for your patience and understanding and the encouragement you frequently voice for the men and women working in tough and dangerous conditions to restore your service and let you get back to enjoying your summer.
Rest assured, we’re sparing no effort or expense in our round-the-clock effort to restore service to our customers, despite the original path of the storm and related limited availability of out-of-state utility resources as well as the continued threat of storm activity throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
Being Prepared
Unfortunately, this will not be the last storm we encounter. In fact, we’re monitoring for possible thunderstorms even as we clean up from Friday’s wreckage. Despite extensive, ongoing tree trimming along our electric lines and with significant investments in reliability equipment, power outages still occur. We ask you to report downed wires and outages by calling 1.877.778.2222 and to prepare for extended outages. You can find helpful advice on what to do before, during and after a storm at BGE’s online storm center. Once again, we thank you for your patience. We will continue to keep you updated about our restoration efforts here, through the local news media and on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.
Sara Pyrant, Forester
 BGE balances the safe and reliable delivery of natural gas and electric service with a vigilant focus on environmental stewardship and responsibility. A core element of our company’s commitment to the environment is protecting the wildlife, forests, plants and waterways in our communities as we provide for our customer’s energy needs. This is a commitment embraced across BGE. From organizing community clean-up projects to creating and providing resources to help preserve wildlife, we make it a priority to understand and enhance the nature-filled spaces throughout our service area and on BGE rights-of-way. BGE has a long-standing tradition of working with many environmental organizations to protect wildlife and preserve rare plants and endangered species that live on our rights-of-way. We’ve worked with community groups to protect green spaces and natural inhabitants as well. Currently, more than 50 rare and endangered plants are thriving on BGE rights-of-way. Additionally, American Bald Eagles and osprey have occupied several nesting platforms that BGE has erected throughout its service area.
Recently, I had the privilege of collaborating on a project with the University of Maryland’s (UMD) Arboretum and Botanical Garden to help revitalize and preserve one of Maryland’s most rare wildflowers – the sundial lupine.
 This collaboration was initiated in 2010 when Dr. Sara Tangren, project leader at UMD, discovered this rare flower growing on a rocky knoll on one of BGE’s rights-of-way, located in Baltimore County. BGE’s vegetation management practices on all of its rights-of-way include mowing, tree trimming and removal, and integrated vegetation management (use of non-toxic herbicides). In collaboration with Dr. Tangren, my colleague Dan Neal and I sprung into action to revise the site vegetation management plans to help nurture and preserve the wildflower. Revitalizing the sundial lupine and other native flowers not only beautifies the landscape and enhances Maryland’s natural habitat, it also helps to preserve and sustain other wildlife that relies on these native and rare plants– such as the frosted elfin butterfly. With the lupines endangered, so were the frosted elfin butterflies. Within a year’s time, a healthy lupine meadow covered nearly an acre of land – the only lupine meadow in Baltimore County. Recently, an additional lupine site has begun to flourish in Anne Arundel County, thanks to the collaborative work between BGE and UMD.
While the sundial lupine has been getting a lot of attention, it’s important to note BGE has more than 50 other rare and endangered plants thriving on its rights-of-way. Some of our endangered plants include, the Iris verna, the Carex vestita, and the Phlox pilosa, just to name a few.
Providing safe and reliable energy is of utmost importance to BGE, but we also respect and protect the wildlife that naturally resides and grows on the sites we occupy. Working for a company that holds this value near, makes me proud as it challenges all of our employees, including me, to find balanced solutions to preserve and protect our planet by ensuring our green spaces are blossoming.
To view photos of the sundial lupine growing on a BGE right-of-way, visit our Flickr page. For more information on BGE’s commitment to environmental stewardship, visit our Stewardship Initiatives page. Jeannette M. Mills VP, Customer Operations & Chief Customer Officer
 Summer is an exciting time for many Marylanders. It’s the time of the year we gather outdoors, travel and enjoy the long days – which means that it’s now even more possible to save energy indoors – and save money.
If you are going to travel over the summer, you may want to shut off your water heater and air conditioner (AC) or adjust your AC thermostat to a higher temperature. If you’re leaving plants or pets behind, make sure they are comfortable. Another way to save energy and money is by unplugging or shutting off devices that aren’t in use, such as video game and entertainment consoles. Consider using multiple-outlet strips, which can turn everything off with a flip of a switch.
For those that will be staying home this summer, there are also ways to save. For example, keeping curtains and blinds closed to reduce the sunlight that enters into your home can help retain cool air and decrease the amount of work for your air conditioner. To further save energy, consider grilling outdoors (safely of course) or using a microwave instead of your stovetop or oven.
While many can enjoy the sunshine, there will be those who choose to stay cool under the air conditioner. Please know heating and cooling systems can account for up to half of your home’s energy cost. To increase your unit’s efficiency, make sure the filter is changed at least monthly and seal any cracks and crevices around walls, doors and windows to keep the cool air in and the warm air out. Visit our SummerReady page to discover simple ways to save energy and money. You can also take advantage of our BGE Smart Energy Savers Program®. Our Quick Home Energy Check-up is a fast, easy way to increase the energy efficiency of your home and help you start saving immediately. PeakRewards℠ can also help you save energy, save money and protect the environment all at the same time.
As you make plans to enjoy the warm months ahead, we at BGE wish you a very safe and energy-efficient summer season.
Jeannette Jeannette M. Mills VP, Customer Operations & Chief Customer Officer
Strong wind and heavy rain made its way through our service territory this weekend causing damage and outages for BGE customers. As with any approaching storm, prior to arrival, we took proactive steps to prepare for the possibility of widespread outages and encouraged customers to do the same. Throughout the storm and aftermath, we informed customers of our restoration progress and reminded them to contact us if they experienced an outage.
While BGE employees and customers work together to weather storms, our equipment - from power lines and meters to transformers and substations - also has an important role in helping to manage a safe, reliable and effective energy delivery system.
BGE's ongoing infrastructure improvements all contribute to a more reliable electric grid. The new metering system being installed by BGE, in addition to enabling customers to better manage their energy usage and bills, will assist the utility in our restoration efforts.
In 2013, we will be able to communicate with the new smart meters to confirm that individual customers have been restored after an outage, instead of calling customers as we currently do.
Through building a smarter grid, BGE will be able to analyze data from across the system to help us better understand where and why outages are occurring and remedy these situations quickly.
Together, we survived this recent storm. As we move forward with enhancing our energy network, we will continue to work together with our customers to enhance reliability. David Milton – Director, Advertising and Marketing
 Many of you may remember the popular safety commercial we produced over 12 years ago featuring a group of kids singing about what to do if you should encounter “Wires Down”. The catchy jingle appears to have staying power over the years with many of our customers. Quite often during our Smart Energy Fairs, road shows and other events where we share information regarding our programs and services with customers, we’re often asked about this commercial - and more often than you may imagine, a customer will belt out the tune.
 Despite the fun approach of this Emmy-winning commercial, the importance of the message cannot be overstated. Never go near, much less touch a downed wire – even if you suspect that it’s not energized, or even suspect that it’s not a power line. As we enter hurricane season, we are making the commercial available online to spread this important safety message to our next generation of BGE customers.
So take a minute and rewind back to the year 2000 by visiting our Facebook page and taking a look at the original commercial. “Like” it and share the memories the commercial brings back to you and your family.
And above all, please remember, if you ever come across downed wires “Do Not, Do Not, Do Not Touch!” Jeannette Mills Jeannette M. Mills VP, Customer Operations & Chief Customer Officer
Each June marks the beginning of hurricane season and with it, the need to be prepared for severe summer weather. No doubt, many BGE customers, as well as those living along the East Coast and mid-Atlantic region, still remember the impact of Hurricane Irene. Strong wind and heavy rain caused widespread, extended power outages. While we can’t stop extreme weather from affecting us, we can all do our part to prepare. Just as we start to put our emergency plan into action by monitoring the weather, keeping employees informed and participating in drills, our customers can take steps to be hurricane-ready. For example, keep our outage number (1.877.778.2222) handy in case you lose power, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay informed, and most importantly have a storm kit and a family plan on hand and ready to go. Planning for storms and hurricanes can help save lives, as well as help you weather a storm-related outage. Some emergency kit items should include:
Flashlights Battery-operated clock and weather radio Fresh batteries Fully charged cell phone with extra battery and/or car charger Enough bottled water & non-perishable food to last for 3 to 7 days First aid kit and prescription medications Blankets and clothing (rain gear, sturdy shoes) Cash and important documents (medical, insurance, financial) Special items for babies, the elderly and pets A full tank of gas in your vehicle Corded telephone for your home
For customers who have special needs and require electricity to power medical or life support equipment, please make appropriate arrangements such as having a portable generator, battery backup or alternate shelter for care. BGE will attempt to contact special needs customers who are registered with BGE to notify them of a possible severe storm. Access our Special Needs Customers page, to learn more about our Special Needs Program and how to register. BGE understands the dangers and inconveniences that severe weather, particularly hurricanes, can bring. Simply put, preparing for extreme weather is the smart choice. On behalf of our leadership team at BGE, we wish you a safe and pleasant summer season.
Jeannette
|
|
We love to hear from you. So feel free to comment, but
keep in mind our blog policy. |
|
|
|
|
