Local Politicians Seek Better Service From Pepco

Takoma Park politicians were among many at a recent hearing with Maryland's Public Service Commission who wanted their voices heard about Pepco's poor performance.

City Councilman Reuben Snipper (Ward 5) stressed the need for better communication from the public utility at the Monday evening public hearing.

"There needs to be multiple methods of informing," Snipper said. "Pepco needs to coordinate with businesses, and they have to do a better job of handling apartment buildings."

In the recent storms, Pepco should have communicated with essential businesses that could have provided relief, like grocery stores and hospitals, to get residents information during the outages, he said.

Snipper questioned why Pepco didn't team up with other utilities companies on burying wire in Takoma Park.

"Why couldn't they coordinate with other utilities who were already digging up the streets?" he said.

Snipper also spoke to the myth that the tree canopy in Montgomery County was to blame for a lot of the outages.

"There were not as many outages in Takoma Park as other places in the county," he said. "And we've got a whole lot of trees. We're a Tree City."

Councilwoman Valerie Ervin (D-District 5), who represents Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Kensington and Wheaton on the Montgomery County Council, similarly scolded Pepco.

She fielded calls from residents who received "misinformation … about restoration activities," she said.

The power outages hit residents in their wallets as well.

"Restocking refrigerators, purchasing generators, flashlights, batteries and other items has become expensive for residents," she said.

Pepco has been having trouble providing service even in fair weather, she said.

"We now know that Pepco ranks in the bottom 25 percent of U.S. utility companies in the frequency of outages, and this does not include outages for major storms," Ervin said.

Pepco needs to take immediate measures, but that won't fix all the issues, she said.

"Pepco has a long way to go to restore the confidence of Montgomery County residents," Ervin said.