Friday, August 17, 2012
The Maryland Public Service Commission has conducted a series of hearings as part of its investigation into how the state's utility companies responded to the storm.
Baltimore Gas and Electric Company customers in Baltimore County voiced their grievances with the state’s largest utility Thursday night, demanding changes in future restoration efforts. The Maryland Public Service Commission, which is currently investigating the state’s power suppliers’ storm preparedness, sought input in Towson, following the late June derecho storm that left 748,000 BGE customers without power. It took BGE eight days to fully bring 62 percent of its statewide customer base back onto the grid. In Baltimore County, speakers—most of whom had experiences with outages lasting beyond four days—said they were frustrated with the company. “This is clearly an indication that the Towson area requires much more attention from …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
In a letter to the utilities' regulatory agency, leaders of seven jurisdictions outline changes they said need to be made in light of the power failures during the derecho storm.
Less than two weeks after a massive storm disabled power to more than three quarters of a million Maryland residents, elected leaders wrote in a letter to a state regulatory agency that utility companies need to improve their performance and disclose critical outage information when government agencies request it. In the letter to the Public Service Commission, officials urged the regulatory agency to consider changes to the way utilities operate, including burying some power lines underground, mandatory staffing levels and improved disclosure of outage information to local municipal officials. The letter was signed by Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and the executives of Anne Arundel, …
Sunday, July 8, 2012
BGE said it has restored service to all customers who were without power following last week's violent derecho storm.
BGE said Sunday afternoon it has restored service all of the nearly 748,000 customers that lost power in the aftermath of last week's violent storms. The derecho storm was one of the most damaging storms in BGE's 200-year history, the company said in a news release. “We thank our customers for the incredible understanding and patience they displayed as we worked to repair the devastating damage to our system,” BGE senior vice president and chief operating officer Stephen J. Woerner said in a statement. “We know that, in many ways, this restoration effort was more trying than any other. Multiple severe storms and greater than 100-degree temperatures made the already difficult situation of being without electricity almost unbearable for many…
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The senator visited a cooling shelter in North Baltimore on Monday.
Sen. Ben Cardin said the response to Friday’s derecho has been frustrating for Maryland residents, but that they understand the storm was unforeseen. "It’s very frustrating. People are at risk, they are losing patience, and people are doing some really dramatic things the help their neighbors," Cardin said. During a visit with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at the Northern Community Action Center in North Baltimore on Monday, the senator said residents know the storm was sudden, and didn’t give BGE and PEPCO much time to prepare. "It’s wrong to place blame at this point. We will assess how they responded and try to learn from it," Cardin said. In the wake of the powerful storm hundreds of thousands of residents were without power, and …
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
A fourth Marylander died from heat and a contractor was killed taking down limbs from a damaged tree, bringing the toll to eight, as Gov. Martin O’Malley stresses that it is still a dangerous situation for elderly citizens.
UPDATED 3:50 p.m. Tuesday: Maryland officials reported a fourth heat-related death and the death of contractor who was removing tree limbs, bringing Maryland’s total to eight deaths due to Friday’s storm, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Joshua Sharfstein reported. The contractor died Monday in Garrett County while taking down limbs from a storm-damaged tree near Oakland, according to Ed McDonough, spokesman for the Maryland Emegency Management Agency (MEMA). More heat-related deaths are expected as crews restore power to the state, Sharfstein said. Gov. Martin O’Malley said the situation for senior citizens still without electricity and, therefore, air conditioning, is dire. “We are still in a very …
Fast-action video shows path of rare weather phenomenon whose after effects enter a fourth day Tuesday.
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Tuesday, July 3, 2012
If you were in Maryland last Friday, you've experienced the force of a "straight-line storm," or derecho, from the ground. Wonder what the brief but punishing specter looked like from above? Check out this 23-second video of the satellite view of the storm making a beeline for the Mid-Atlantic.
Monday, July 2, 2012
The state’s death count has risen to six as more than 400,000 Marylanders are still without power.
Six Marylanders have died as a result of Friday night’s storm, Gov. Martin O’Malley said during a news conference Monday. More than 400,000 Marylanders were still without power as of 3:30 p.m. Monday as the state approached approximately 60 percent restoration, O’Malley said. Three of the six deaths from the storm were heat-related, and two of those three were senior citizens. Those deaths were in Baltimore City, Wicomico and Montgomery counties, according to Fran Phillips, deputy secretary of public health service for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In the case of the other three deaths, an Anne Arundel County resident died after a tree fell on his SUV, a Montgomery County resident died after a tree fell on their …
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6:21 am on Sunday, August 19, 2012
It's a good idea to keep a battery operated radio on hand... more ›