BALTIMORE (May 27, 2018) – BGE gas and electric crews responded to downtown Ellicott City and surrounding areas today after torrential rains and flash flooding damaged buildings and roads, leading to a state of emergency being declared by Governor Larry Hogan. Gas and electric service in the Main Street area of Ellicott City is off as damage to equipment is assessed.  In areas where heavy flooding occurred and infrastructure and buildings sustained severe damage, there will likely be extended outages of electric and gas service until infrastructure can be fully inspected and in some cases rebuilt. BGE will coordinate closely with Howard County and state emergency officials throughout the response and restoration effort.

The time it takes to restore gas or electric service depends on the amount of damage to gas mains and power lines and the extent of any necessary repairs. After flooding, repairs are subject to water receding and the time it takes to pump all water and debris from gas pipes. Additionally, the restoration timeframe is influenced by how long it takes to access all affected customer properties and inspect meters and equipment.  In many cases, customer properties may be too severely damaged to restore services once power and gas are again available in the area.  

BGE asks all customers, including those with smart meters, to report their outage from a safe location. Outages may be reported online at BGE.com and via BGE's free mobile app available at theApple Store or Google Play.  Customers may also report outages and downed wires by calling 877-778-2222, on BGE.com and through mobile devices. To sign up for email and text notifications, visit BGE.com/alerts. Proceed with care and stay clear of water if you have experienced flooding in your basement, if you have submerged gas or electric meters or if water has impacted electrical outlets.  As always, any natural gas odors or gas safety concerns should be immediately reported to BGE from a safe location by calling 800-685-0123. BGE will respond 24-7 to investigate and make the area safe.  

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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 onFacebook and follow us onTwitter, YouTube  andFlickr.