For Immediate Release
Contact
Richard Yost
richard.yost@bge.com
Since 2010, outages down 45 percent and average outage length reduced by 55 minutes
BALTIMORE (Feb. 9, 2021) – BGE customers again benefitted from the company's commitment to providing quality electric power in 2020. Investments in electric system infrastructure upgrades, the increased adoption of innovative technologies, and the company's dedicated employees have combined to reduce the average length of a service interruption by 55 minutes (38 percent) since 2010.
"Each and every day, BGE focuses on maintaining and improving our strong foundation of providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy to all of our customers in central Maryland. This is especially important during the pandemic, as many Marylanders spend more time at home–working, helping children attend school remotely, or navigating programs that offer support to those who are sick or unemployed," said BGE President and Chief Operating Officer Stephen J. Woerner. "As we harden and automate our system to reduce outages and increase restoration speeds, we will continue to innovate to build system resiliency – all with the support of our dedicated, prepared lineworkers who are in the field every day delivering for their customers."
In 2020, the average number of interruptions experienced by customers was the second lowest rate in BGE's history. Since 2010, the number of electric outages has decreased 45 percent and outage length has been reduced by 38 percent.
The company actively explores innovative technologies to help improve system reliability. Examples include using drones to enable more efficient and safer equipment inspections, installing specialized equipment that can automatically restore service or isolate damage, and providing storm restoration staff with mobile apps that help them identify and get to jobs faster.
BGE invested nearly $1.4 billion in infrastructure improvements and operations and maintenance of the company's electric system in 2020. Since 2014, BGE has invested $11.8 billion in improving and operating and maintaining both the gas and electric systems serving our customers.
The company continues to share best practices and resources with its Exelon sister utilities: Atlantic City Electric, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco.
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BGE is Maryland's largest natural gas and electric utility, providing safe and reliable energy delivery to more than 1.3 million electric customers and more than 680,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. The company was founded in 1816 as the nation's first gas utility and remains headquartered in Baltimore City to this day. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (Nasdaq: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider. Engage with the latest BGE stories on bgenow.com and connect with BGE on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.