​High sustained winds and gusts, downed trees and limbs on power lines and roadways expected through Saturday causing outages and challenging restoration efforts ​

BALTIMORE (March 2, 2018) – BGE is restoring service to customers who lost power due to the high winds that began affecting central Maryland overnight. Most of the outages have resulted from extremely high winds bringing trees and large tree limbs down on power lines and other electric equipment. Numerous wind gusts over 50 miles per hour have been observed throughout BGE's service area.  BGE increased staffing and mobilized crews in advance of the storm. 

Crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore service to customers who lose power.  Challenging conditions include hazardous road conditions and downed trees and large limbs that must be removed from power lines before repairs can be completed.  Additionally, operation of bucket trucks for overhead repairs is limited in high winds.  High winds are expected to last through Saturday afternoon.

BGE asks all customers, including those with smart meters, to report their outage. Outages and downed wires may be reported by calling 877-778-2222, on BGE.com and through mobile devices. Outages may also be reported online at BGE.com and via BGE's free mobile app available today at the Apple Store or Google Play.  To sign up for email and text notifications, visit BGE.com/alerts.

Outage information and important details on how to remain safe during winter weather and other emergency events can be found at the storm center on BGE.com and on BGE's social media sites Twitter and Facebook.

Customers with special needs, such as those who may be elderly, disabled or dependent on electricity for medical equipment, should have alternate arrangements in place should they experience an extended power outage.

BGE's restoration priorities are public safety and critical care facilities, such as 911centers, hospitals and pumping stations.  Then restoration is generally scheduled so that the greatest number of customers can be restored as quickly and as safely as possible.  However, in cases of extended power outages, consideration is also given to customers who have been without service for the longest.  ​

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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.