​BALTIMORE (Dec. 22, 2017) – More than 40,000 wooden utility poles were inspected by Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) in 2017 as part of the company's $1.1 billion investment in its electric distribution system which has contributed to BGE customers experiencing the best reliability in the company's 201-year history.

"Our primary goal is safe and reliable service, and that starts with ensuring the integrity of our electric infrastructure such as our utility poles," said Derrick Dickens, vice president of technical services for BGE. "This work is part of our preventative maintenance program which covers every piece of equipment on both our electric and natural gas distribution systems. Ensuring that our equipment is in good shape is the first step to BGE delivering record levels of reliability for our customers."

This year's inspections in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Howard County marked the beginning of BGE's third 10-year preventative maintenance cycle during which more than 380,000 poles in BGE's service area are examined for decay and insect infestation. Poles that are not up to BGE standards are repaired or replaced. All work is done in compliance with the National Electrical Safety Code.

In addition to pole inspections, other work includes reviewing more than 4,500 circuit miles of overhead power lines and minimizing the threats from trees weakened by winter storms with $24 million in vegetation trimming near overhead lines.

Since 2006, the number of total electric outages has decreased 37 percent, and outage length has been reduced by 41 percent. BGE continually invests in its infrastructure, including more than $6 billion in system upgrades since 2002, which is expected to lead to fewer outages and faster restoration when outages do occur. The company plans to invest an additional $4.5 billion during the next five years.

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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 power delivery to more than 1.25 million electric customers and more than 650,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland, as well as enhanced energy management, conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. J.D. Power's 2017 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study(SM) ranked BGE highest in customer satisfaction with business electric service in the east among large utilities. The company also has an estimated annual economic impact of $5 billion of output in its service area, supporting more than 9,500 local jobs and producing $923 million in labor income. 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, YouTube  and Flickr.