Pepco defends storm response to Md. regulators

By ALEX DOMINGUEZ

BALTIMORE

Pepco defended its response to recent storms that left many without power for days and admitted that the utility has had problems communicating with customers Tuesday during a hearing before the Maryland Public Service Commission.

The PSC noted in its order calling Tuesday's hearing that outages since late July have affected nearly a half million customers and customers complain the company has not communicated effectively during outages.

PSC Chairman Doug Nazarian told Pepco officials the commission has received stacks of complaints and "there is a perception the company is not prepared and is not mobilized" for storms.

"We know it's been frustrating," said David Velazquez, Pepco's executive vice president for power delivery.

However, Pepco officials defended their response during recent storms, presenting a report detailing when crews were deployed, when additional crews from other utilities were requested, when they arrived, and when power was returned.

Pepco officials admitted problems in communicating with customers and under questioning from Nazarian said Pepco's outage frequency is in the bottom half compared to other utilities over the last several years.

Bill Gausman, senior vice president of asset management, said the company has a four-year program under way it hopes will move it into the top half of utilities in terms of outage frequency.

"I'd like to say we could do it in a year," Gausman said, adding the complexity of the system makes that impossible.

Under further questioning, Gausman noted the outage frequency studies exclude major events such as storms.

Pepco officials also repeatedly noted that most outages are due to trees, many of which are on private property, and the utility was increasing its tree trimming efforts as well as looking at burying lines where possible and accelerating reliability improvement programs.

Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen said she was not pleased, noting company officials could not tell the commissioners how many customers they had in her county and she wanted the commission to demand specific action by Pepco, a unit of Pepco Holdings Inc.

"I'd like a standard established that they would have to meet," Floreen said.

Before the hearing began, Nazarian told those gathered in the hearing room that the public would be able to comment at a 6 p.m. hearing Aug. 30 in the Montgomery County Council building in Rockville.