For Immediate Release
Contact
Nick Alexopulos
nicholas.alexopulos@bge.com
BALTIMORE (July 10, 2019) – BGE joins utilities across the country today in celebration of the women and men whose work provides customers with the safe, reliable electric service they depend on to power so many essential parts of their personal and professional lives.
Each year on July 10, National Lineworker Appreciation Day salutes those responsible for maintaining and improving the electric system—overhead, underground, at substations, and everywhere else the grid extends. These employees brave harsh seasonal conditions as a routine part of their job in the field, and they respond at any hour of the day when emerging issues with complex electrified equipment require their expert technical skills.
"I'm honored to recognize BGE lineworkers for their invaluable contributions to this company," said Rob Biagiotti, vice president of Electric Operations at BGE. "A significant driver of BGE's success in exceeding customer expectations depends on our lineworkers' unwavering commitment to service and safety excellence in roles that are among the most challenging in our industry. We deeply appreciate all that they do, and we continue to be inspired by their eagerness to innovate and develop irreplaceable connections with the communities in our region."
BGE lineworkers ensure service reliability for more than 1.25 million customers in central Maryland. These crews are responsible for nearly 9,200 miles of overhead primary electric distribution and 17,300 miles of underground primary distribution, along with 1,567 feeders and 244 substations. They also maintain close to 287,000 streetlights that illuminate roadways in the Baltimore area.
The company's lineworkers manage this massive electric system while improving service for customers overall. During the past 10 years, their work has been integral to decreasing the number of electric outages for BGE customers by 32 percent and reducing outage length by 38 percent.
Nearly 75,000 lineworkers are employed by U.S. utilities, which celebrate National Lineworker Appreciation Day together with BGE, the Edison Electric Institute, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and BGE's sister Exelon utilities Atlantic City Electric, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO, and Pepco. The annual appreciation day honors the life and work of Henry Miller, the first president of IBEW.
Everyone is encouraged to #ThankALineworker at @MyBGE on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
In March, BGE and fellow Exelon gas companies Delmarva Power and PECO joined the American Gas Association and gas companies across the nation in marking Natural Gas Utility Workers' Day.
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BGE, founded in 1816 as the nation's first gas utility and headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland's largest natural gas and electric utility. The company's approximately 3,200 employees are committed to safe and reliable energy delivery to more than 1.25 million electric customers and more than 650,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. In the J.D. Power 2017 and 2018 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study SM, BGE was ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Business Electric Service in the East among Large Utilities. In addition, in the J.D. Power 2018 Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study SM BGE received Best in Customer Satisfaction with Business Natural Gas Service in the East. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Flickr.
Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (or "BGE") received the highest score in the East Large segment of the 2018 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study and the East Region of the 2018 Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study of electric and gas utility customer satisfaction among business customers. Visit jdpower.com/awards.