Utility Regulator Schedules Public Hearings After Derecho
The Public Service Commission will hear from residents across the state about their outages.
Maryland's utility regulator has scheduled hearings across the state to hear from residents about their experiences with the utilities during the powerful derecho storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of residents.
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) will hear testimony from Howard County residents at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the George Howard Building in Ellicott City.
Residents who wish to submit written testimony may do so by Sept. 10. Mail comments to: David J. Collins, Executive Secretary, Maryland Public Service Commission, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul Street, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202.
In a July 10 letter to the PSC, officials said that utilities needed to improve performance, readiness and disclose outage information when the government requested it.
The letter, attached, was signed by Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and the executives of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
During the storm, more than three quarters of a million Maryland residents lost power. In all, 19 deaths were reported statewide during the 12 days of extreme heat following the storm, which moved into Maryland the night of June 30, the Baltimore Sun reported.
The PSC scheduled a total of eight hearings to hear from customers of four major utilities: BGE, PEPCO, Potomac Edison Company and Southwestern Maryland Electric Cooperation, Inc. A full list of dates and locations is available online.
Additionally, a PSC hearing is scheduled July 24 in Howard County as part of an investigation into BGE’s reliability in several Ellicott City neighborhoods.
Read Patch’s coverage of the "derecho” and its aftermath:
