Our priorities for restoring your power
Many of our customers have asked how we determine whose power goes back on first. BGE has a detailed plan for restoring electrical service after a power outage. Our first priority is the safety of personnel and the public. While our goal is to always restore power to the greatest number of customers in the shortest amount of time, medical and emergency services receive first priority. Then we repair main power lines and equipment that will restore the most power to the most customers at once, and finally, we restore individual transformers and smaller lines to individual homes and businesses. The illustration below shows the order in which BGE restores the power.
If a storm should cause severe, widespread damage, it may be necessary to physically assess damage before work begins. If you see a truck leave your neighborhood before your power goes back on, please rest assured that we are not ignoring your problem. We may need to repair or replace larger power lines or equipment before the line to your home or business is restored. If, however, your power remains off after service is restored to your neighborhood, call our electric outage number again at 1-877-778-2222. Rest assured - we won't stop working until everyone's power is back on.
Restoration priorities:
1. Transmission Lines
- Bring bulk power from power plants
- Connect to several substations
- 10,000+ customers affected
2. Substations
- Distribute power to several circuits
- 6,000+ customers affected
3. Distribution Lines
- Form power networks connecting communities and industries
- 1,500+ customers affected
4. Overhead Lines
- Serve smaller customer groups or neighborhoods
- 50+ customers affected
5. Transformers
- Reduce level to usable voltage for your home or business
- 1 - 8 customers affected
6. Line to Your Home or Business
All the lines and equipment that carry electricity between the generating plant and your home or business must be restored before it can be delivered to a specific address. It wouldn't help to fix an individual problem until the larger lines and systems are restored. That's why our efforts start with the large transmission lines and substations, then go to the main feeders and distribution lines in an affected community. Finally, individual transformers and smaller lines to your home or business are restored.
Will BGE remove fallen trees and debris?
After a weather event that causes downed trees or limbs to fall on our electrical wires, BGE should be contacted immediately. Tree crews will remove the tree or limbs from the wires and clear the area to allow service to be restored. Removal of debris, left as a result of the storm, will be the responsibility of the property owner. Never attempt to remove a tree or limb that has fallen on our wires. Call 410-685-0123 or 1-800-685-0123 outside the Baltimore Metropolitan area to report the condition!
