Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The plan—with a focus on state regulators, goals for reliability and political contributions—came two days before a plan by Gov. O’Malley to bolster the state’s electrical grid.
Pepco has long drawn the ire of customers, who have decried the utility for power outages, slow response times and little accountability. Rockville City Councilman Mark Pierzchala hopes to change that. “I came up with a plan for fixing Pepco,” Pierzchala said during Monday’s Rockville City Council meeting, a pronouncement that drew laughter from Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio. “Well, you have a chance to comment one way or another,” Pierzchala said. Pierzchala unveiled his plan two days before Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) released 11 recommendations and a four-step implementation plan to bolster Maryland’s electrical grid. Click here to read the governor’s plan. O'Malley's plan calls for rewriting the way Maryland approves utility rate increases, …
Friday, August 10, 2012
Maryland Public Service Commission calls a public hearing for Sept. 24 to examine "bill stabilization."
The Maryland Public Service Commission is asking the public to weigh in on whether utilities should be able to collect a fee to recoup losses from catastrophic events such as major power outages. The commission, which oversees utilities including Pepco and Baltimore Gas and Electric, will hold a public hearing Sept. 24 in Baltimore. The fee, imposed under a regulation known as bill stabilization adjustment, allows utilities to charge ratepayers for losses sustained during the first 24 hours of major outages. Following backlash from the public and local officials over Pepco’s response to the crippling June 29 storm, the fee drew outrage. Pepco customers criticized the practice, asking during a public hearing before the Maryland Public …
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The utility's post-storm response report was 'accurate,' region vice president says.
Customers spoke. Pepco listened. Following more than four hours of testimony before members of the state Public Service Commission on Tuesday in Rockville, Jerry Pasternak, Pepco’s region vice president for Maryland affairs, stood in a nearly empty hearing room at the Montgomery County Council building and told reporters what he heard. “I think everybody who was here tonight was very sincere and expressed their views on how they feel,” Pasternak said of the testimony about his company’s performance in the days after the June 29 storm and extended power outage. “And we heard that. We understand the anger. We understand the frustration. We’re working hard to overcome that. We’re working hard to restore their confidence in our ability to …
Days without power, air conditioning or answers had customers at a hearing on Tuesday calling for changes to the utility—and to the panel that regulates it.
Bearing photos, frustration and rage, wry humor, harrowing tales of surviving record heat and even poetry, Montgomery County residents railed against Pepco for more than four hours Tuesday night during a hearing before members of the state’s Public Service Commission. The hearing in Rockville was the first of eight that state utility regulators have scheduled around the state to hear from the public about power companies’ performance after the June 29 derecho. The storm left 483,639 Pepco customers without power, including 252,018 in Montgomery County and 158,210 in Prince George’s, the utility reported last month. About 150 of those customers attended Tuesday's hearing. Among those who testified was a multiple sclerosis sufferer who …
Friday, July 20, 2012
State regulators to vote today on proposed Pepco rate increase.
This is the second of two articles based on comments made by Gov. Martin O’Malley this week about Pepco, the state Public Service Commission and the future of Maryland’s power grid. Click here to read the first article. Gov. Martin O’Malley laid out the challenge for Maryland’s Public Service Commission this week, calling on regulators to work to strengthen the state’s power grid as utilities rethink their service model. Speaking at a stop in Rockville, O’Malley (D) called 1999 legislation that deregulated the state’s utilities “a mistake,” saying it led to a reduction of preventive maintenance by Pepco that went unaddressed until the PSC intervened in 2010. Now, the PSC, which regulates state utilities, must address “how to adjust for…
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Public Service Commission plans hearings on Pepco's response to the June 29 storm.
This is the first of two articles based on comments by Gov. Martin O’Malley this week about Pepco, the Maryland Public Service Commission and the future of Maryland’s power grid. Stronger storms than the region has seen in decades mean Maryland needs a stronger electrical grid—and that means the state’s Public Service Commission has work to do after it holds hearings next month, Gov. Martin O’Malley said during a stop this week in Rockville. “I think there’s pretty broad consensus that the grid that we currently have is not as strong as it needs to be to weather the far more violent and frequent weather events that a warm atmosphere is going to be bringing for the foreseeable future,” O’Malley (D) said. Pepco executives and state officials…
Friday, July 13, 2012
A letter and an online petition call for Public Service Commission action, WTOP reported.
Maryland representative from Montgomery and Prince George's county are urging state regulators to take severe action against Pepco and Baltimore Gas and Electric following the June 29 storm and its elongated, widespread power outages. Senators Brian E. Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda and Sen. James C. Rosapepe (D-Dist. 21) of College Park, suggested fines reaching more than $100 million for the power service providers and "wrote in a letter Thursday to the Public Service Commission that the money could be used to create a 'Surge Reserve' fund to pay for additional trained workers to help restore power faster," according to a report by WTOP. The senators also have opened an online petition for local consumers to sign in support of the …
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Public Service Commission will hold rate hearing in Rockville in June.
Pepco shouldn't be allowed to increase rates for Maryland customers. So said AARP officials and ratepayers at AARP's town hall meeting on Sunday at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase. Ratepayers will get a chance to testify before the Maryland Public Service Commission at a public hearing at 7 p.m. on June 25 in the cafeteria of the Executive Office Building at 101 Monroe St., in Rockville. Another public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on June 21 in the Municipal Center Council Chambers (City Hall), at 4500 Knox Road, in College Park. Ratepayers on Sunday discussed Pepco’s request for permission from the PSC to collect more than $67 million more from Maryland customers. "Our position is: 'No more money until you …
Piotr Gajewski
8:30 pm on Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Hats off to Councilmember Pierzchala for stepping forward to provide leadership on this, perhaps the most embarrassing shortcoming of the quality of life in Rockville and our region! The challenge is overwhelming and while many others just throw up their arms and give up, Councilmember Pierzchala recognizes that challenges must be met head on, and overcoming them begins with a first step, … more ›