BGE Restores Power to Over 110,000 Customers Affected by Severe Multi-Day Storm Event

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BGE crews have completed power restoration for over 110,000 customers who were impacted by a series of severe storms that swept through Maryland starting Saturday, July 4.

Heavy rain, lightning, and strong winds caused significant, widespread damage across central Maryland. Extensive vegetation damage included uprooted trees, while broken trees and tree limbs knocked down poles and power lines. In response, over 1,100 BGE crews, emergency response teams and mutual assistance personnel were deployed, working safely 24/7 to complete just over 1,300 restoration jobs.

Investments in equipment that support reliability including new technologies and systems that help keep the lights on and the AC running safely and consistently for customers - enabled faster outage restoration and helped avoid approximately 240,000 additional customer interruptions during the weather events.

In addition:

• Crews replaced more than 70 damaged poles

• • 24 poles were needed for Baltimore & Annapolis Blvd (near Cromwell Light Rail station) alone

• Crews replaced more than 50 damaged transformers and 350 broken crossarms
• Approximately 5,000 feet of wire has been used, equivalent to almost 14 football fields measured from the back of each end zone.
• Customer Care representatives fielded more than 125,000 calls to the Care Center between 9 p.m. on July 4 and 11 a.m. on July 9.

BGE thanks customers for their patience and understanding throughout the restoration process. We are also grateful to the dedicated BGE men and women who worked long hours to respond to these storms - stepping away from their families and braving adverse weather conditions to repair the grid and get customers back online.

"We know how difficult it is for our customers to be without power," said Dawn White, vice president of Electric Distribution at BGE. "The entire team, worked tirelessly in extreme conditions with one shared purpose: safely restoring service to every customer. We are incredibly proud and deeply grateful for their work, which reflects the commitment to the people and neighborhoods we are privileged to serve every day."

Vegetation issues are responsible for more than 40 percent of customer outages during storms in central Maryland. These severe storms illustrate how downed trees, tree limbs, and other vegetation debris remain a threat to reliability, and emphasize the importance of tree trimming, as well as investments in BGE's vegetation management work, to enhance system resilience.

Downed wires: safety reminder

As a reminder, fallen overhead power lines should never be approached or touched even if the lines do not appear to be live or sparking. Call BGE at 877.778.2222 to report fallen electrical lines. Call BGE at 800.685.0123 if you see branches, kites, toys, balloons, or other items caught in a power line. Do not try to remove them.

How customers can report outages:

BGE asks all customers to report their outage in any of the following ways:

• Online, at BGE.com
• BGE's free mobile app, available at the Apple Store or Google Play
• Text message, to 69243
• Phone 877.778.2222
• To report gas odors, call 911 or 877.778.7798 and leave the area quickly.

These reporting services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To sign up for email and text notifications, visit BGE.com/alerts. Bookmark BGE's enhanced outage map at bge.com/outagemap for general information on outages in BGE's service area.