During last month's most severe storm, a snow-laden branch connected with power lines and ignited outside Edward Loomis' Ten Hills home. That fire was quickly extinguished, but he wasn't so lucky in 2005 when a limb took down power lines and started a fire that damaged his garage.
Karen Segall and her family suffered through years of regular, prolonged power outages before paying $25,000 to install a generator at their Stevenson home last fall. That powered their home when the lights went out last month.
The January snowstorm caused hundreds of thousands of power outages. For some Maryland residents the outages stretched for days after snow stopped falling, while others say frequent service disruptions have become routine, whether the forecast calls for strong winds or blue skies. And some customers say that requests for preventive maintenance go unheeded or complain of poor customer service.
The situation has prompted stern rebukes from politicians and calls for new reliability standards for utilities. Gov. Martin O'Malley and state lawmakers proposed such legislation this month. They want to impose fines for long delays before restoring power and for poor communication about restoration efforts — and to send that money back to affected ratepayers.
"We have to have electric companies that make required investments in their infrastructure so we can provide electric service to their people," said Del. Brian Feldman, a Montgomery County Democrat and bill sponsor.
While much of the ire over outages has been directed at Pepco Holdings Inc., which powers homes in the Washington suburbs, Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. and other utilities also would be held to any new standards.
The Maryland Public Service Commission, the state's top energy regulator, has been investigating complaints about extended outages with Pepco since last summer and already has drafted regulations to hold it and other utilities accountable. The agency also is looking into whether utilities have a financial disincentive to make swift repairs.
During last month's storm, about 237,500 of 1.2 million BGE customers lost power for an average of 11 hours. That compares with a total of 142,000 outages during the February 2010 blizzards that lasted on average eight hours.
About 190,000 of 530,000 Pepco customers in Maryland lost power last month; data on length of outages weren't available. Pepco had 264,000 outages for an average 13.6 hours last year.
BGE spokesman Rob Gould said in a statement that the utility has been working to improve reliability by reducing outages and improving restoration efforts, and it wants to work with the O'Malley administration. The question is whether the costs will exceed the benefits, he said.
"The legislation raises substantial questions about what is achievable over time at a cost that customers are willing to pay," Gould said.
Pepco spokesman Clay Anderson said the company is awaiting final legislative language before passing judgment. Though, he added, "We're not in disagreement about standards."
At a General Assembly hearing on power outages last week, Pepco Chairman and CEO Joseph Rigby said: "At the root of our company is a strong desire to satisfy customers … we understand we have work to do to satisfy those expectations."
Utilities are now required to submit annual reports with statistics about service interruptions and the duration. They also must indicate which are the worst-hit geographic areas, what causes those outages and how they are working to improve performance.
In addition, if a major storm causes more than 100,000 customers to lose power, larger utilities must submit a report detailing their response. Those reports pertaining to last month's storm are due Friday.
In January, the PSC proposed revisions to existing regulations to set benchmarks for tree trimming; deadlines for responding to downed wires, outages and repeated service interruptions; and shorter telephone call response times. Violations could be subject to fines.
For example, if utilities fail to restore power to 90 percent of customers within 60 hours after major events, the proposed regulations would require them to explain how they would improve their performance. According to BGE, the utility met that standard during the most recent storm.
The proposed legislation being considered by the Assembly would direct the PSC to have the regulations in effect by July 2012. The bill also would credit any fines back to residential customers and bar utilities from raising rates to recover the cost of those penalties.
"At this point in time, there's a recognition we do need more definition and more meat on the bones to ensure that reliability is maintained," said Paula Carmody, head of the Maryland Office of People's Counsel, which represents residents on utility matters.
Carmody said utilities need to examine advance storm plans and when to bring in outside assistance, such as repair crews from other states. Utilities also need to coordinate better with local governments to ensure that roads are plowed or cleared of trees so they can reach downed wires or broken equipment, she said.
Feldman said the outages cost residents as well as the local economy, as state officials are trying to "brand" Maryland as a state for high-tech, biotech and information technology enterprise.
"Other jurisdictions, D.C., Delaware, have standards by which to measure their utilities," Feldman said. "Here, we have in large parts of our state an energy infrastructure that is less reliable than many Third World nations."
Meanwhile, the PSC has launched investigations into "bill stabilization" adjustments filed by Pepco, BGE and other utilities. The adjustments allow utilities to maintain a steady source of revenue for distribution even if energy use declines — a practice known as "decoupling" intended to encourage energy conservation. The Office of People's Counsel raised concerns that bill stabilization would guarantee income even during extended service disruptions.
Chris Burton, BGE's senior vice president of gas and electric operations, said that the adjustments affect only distribution rates, which represent about one-third of customer bills. And the costs of extended storm recovery would far exceed what might be recouped through decoupling, he said.
"The money we spent on that would pay many times over any type of adjustment from the revenue that was lost from a distribution," Burton said.
Utility officials say that falling trees cause the majority of storm damage. Gould, the BGE spokesman, said the Jan. 26 snowfall was heavy and wet, causing 65 percent more outages than last February's twin storms.
About 9,000 miles of BGE's distribution lines are above ground; more than 15,000 miles of lines are buried. The company has a four-year tree-trimming cycle, but it must obtain property owners' permission to cut or remove dangerous trees outside of the utility's right-of-way. And owners don't always cooperate, Gould said.
BGE has targeted efforts in some areas, such as Bowie, to work with homeowners and local elected officials to aggressively trim and remove vegetation, replace equipment and bury wires. Bowie has seen a 60 percent improvement in reliability, according to BGE officials.
Loomis, the Ten Hills customer, said BGE regularly trimmed back the trees around his home until that first fire in 2005. "I don't believe that anyone in BGE is actually inspecting the lines anymore," he said.
Segall, the Stevenson resident, said she requested tree-trimming from BGE numerous times but was told it wasn't necessary. Then last year, a tree took down wires and ripped the electric meter from the side of the Segall house, starting a small fire. Now the Segalls plan to bury the power line to their house at their own expense.
Gould reviewed utility records and said the areas near the Loomis and Segall homes had been trimmed in 2008. He also said that most of the outages at the Segall home were storm-related and caused by trees outside of BGE's right-of-way. Nonetheless, he said, officials would meet with both customers to address their concerns.
Utility officials have promoted their outreach efforts. During last week's legislative hearing, BGE officials told the delegates they sent automated calls to alert customers with special medical needs about the storm. Gould also said that social media tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, enhanced efforts to spread the word about repairs.
Some lawmakers were skeptical.
"You can tell me it's working on paper. I don't think it's working in practice," said Del. Donna Stifler, a Harford County Republican. She added that she couldn't get on Facebook during the outage at her Forest Hills home because her router wouldn't work without electricity.
Pepco
530,000 customers in Maryland
190,000 customers lost power
90 percent restored by 7 a.m. Sat., Jan. 29
January storm outages
BGE
1.2 million customers in Maryland
237,500 customers lost power
90 percent restored by noon Fri., Jan. 28.