Officials Seek Answers from Pepco

Gaithersburg’s Mayor and City Council want to know why some areas are routinely affected longer during power outages and why Pepco fell down on the job with communication to customers and local agencies during the late July power outage that lasted nearly two days in some parts of the city.

At the August 2 Mayor and City Council meeting Mayor Sidney Katz cited several discussion points to be included in a letter to Pepco created during a meeting with Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio and Montgomery County Council member Phil Andrews. Katz instructed staff to draft the letter.

In addition, Katz asked Pepco President Tom Graham for a “sit-down” during a press conference at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds on July 27, around the same time the power was finally restored to Quince Orchard Park and Deer Park after nearly two days.

First on the list of questions to Pepco is why communication is lacking by Pepco with local governments. “This was evident in both the blizzard and this storm,” said frustrated City Council member Jud Ashman.

Katz only learned of the press conference from Town Courier staff shortly before the event. Marcuccio also asked The Town Courier to let her know if the paper heard of another press conference as much of her city was without power on the day Graham was in Gaithersburg. She later met up with power officials at a Montgomery County Council meeting and passed out her business card asking for more communication.

State Delegate Kumar Barve wasn’t impressed with the response by Pepco to restore power and in an e-mail blast requested that area residents let him know how they fared in the power outage. Barve plans to send the responses to the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC).

Next on the list is the need to identify the neighborhoods routinely affected first and longest by power outages in Gaithersburg “There seems to be a pattern, and we need to sit down and figure this out,” said Katz.

For some neighborhoods, including Quince Orchard Park, power was deliberately shut off hours after the storm so crews could work on damaged lines somewhere else “up the line,” according to Graham. Gaithersburg wants to know where the troubled lines are and have tree maintenance be a priority in those areas.

Graham views tree maintenance as Pepco’s responsibility, but Gaithersburg City Council member Cathy Drzyzgula disagrees, calling it a “partnership.”

Communication with customers is also on the list of concerns with some area residents being told power would be restored as late as September 13. Graham blamed a technical “glitch” in Pepco’s online outage reporting system.

Graham defended the decision to hold additional crews who arrived July 26, the day after the storm, until the morning of July 27 before getting to work. “They arrived from out of state,” he said of the 399 field technicians who traveled. “They needed time to rest and be given their assignments.”

Gaithersburg City Council member Ryan Spiegel said the letter is an important step, as is the need to remind the PSC of the problems at hand. “Our staff needs to strike the proper tone by being sufficiently assertive,” he said. “We’re not politely asking; this is really serious.”