Letter to the Editor from BGE: Thank You For Your Patience

BGE wants to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we continue our Hurricane Irene restoration efforts. We want to assure them that we are working as safely, quickly and efficiently as possible to restore their power.

Throughout Central Maryland, we have been addressing public safety issues, such as downed wires, and repairing critical infrastructure as well as repairing equipment and lines serving individual homes and businesses.

BGE expects to have all power restored to those impacted by Irene in less time than it took to restore power during 2003’s Isabel – a storm that’s similar in amounts of power outages. Despite the fact that we have restored nearly 80 percent of those who lost power within 72 hours of the storm’s passing, we understand that those customers who remain without power are frustrated, particularly as their day-to- day activities continue to be impacted. More than 5,500 personnel, including roughly 2,200 out-of-state linemen and tree contractors, are currently working around-the-clock.

Keeping the public safe while waiting for a team to begin work at a particular location is one of our most important jobs in storm restoration. For example - you may see safety stand-by personnel guarding a downed wire. Also, many of our crews travel in teams comprised of tree and overhead line crews. Often times, a line crew must wait nearby – sometimes in a nearby parking area - for the tree crew to complete its work before it can begin. This helps increase the efficiency of our crews as well as helps to ensure their safety.
We remain committed to a safe and prompt restoration for each and every one of our customers. Only then will we be satisfied.

Sincerely,
Kenneth W. DeFontes Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer Baltimore Gas and Electric Company