In The Dark About PEPCO?!

Post #76

For too many of us, this has been the summer of the power outage in Montgomery County -- full of blackouts, melting food, and sultry, un-air-conditioned nights. (This was after the outages we all experienced during the snow storms last winter!)  In response to the resulting public outrage, the Maryland Public Service Commission tonight held a public hearing on PEPCO’s sorry standard of service.  I walked over to the County Council Building from our headquarters in downtown Rockville to participate, because I thought it important to hear from leaders and members of the community I hope to represent again.  In addition, I had written testimony I was prepared to deliver on my own experiences with our electric utility.

Although it is obviously difficult just two weeks before an election to disconnect any public appearance from my candidacy, it was as a PEPCO ratepayer and former member of the House of Delegates that I went to the hearing.  As a ratepayer, I wanted to share the story of how my neighbors and I successfully demanded better service from PEPCO, for the example it would provide to those in attendance.  As a former Delegate, I wanted to recount the efforts of some of us in the legislature to maintain adequate public control of electric utilities at a time when the idea of power-company deregulation was sweeping the nation.  The dire effect of deregulation on rates and service since then-- here and elsewhere-- has proven that those entities charged with providing a vital public service must not be regulated by the marketplace alone.

The Council chambers were packed, and there was a long list of people who wanted to testify.  Virtually every elected official in Montgomery County, from U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen and County Executive Ike Leggett to various town officials, thought it worth their time to come and participate.  They shared their own ideas and experiences as well as those of their constituents. My opponent, Jennie Forehand, was a notable exception-- apparently she had something better to do tonight.

Power outages are not only a nuisance, but waste refrigerated and frozen food, and are a drag on the economy because of all the electronic devices (and businesses!) that stop working. They can also be life-threatening to those reliant on certain medical devices.

I live in a neighborhood that suffered frequent power outages, often for no discernible reason.  I finally got fed up.  I drafted a petition to PEPCO and went door-to-door, talking to my neighbors and collecting signatures. We insisted that the company replace the outdated equipment that contributed to the problem.  Because we were united in our effort and persistent in our demands, PEPCO listened.  The company made the necessary upgrades.  Now, I am happy to say our neighborhood suffers fewer outages than average for our service area.  Our success can be replicated elsewhere if neighbors work together.

At the government level, progress can also be made by holding PEPCO accountable.  Tonight’s hearing was a good example of that kind of public oversight.  In fact, the whole idea behind the Public Service Commissions established early last century was to ensure that power and other monopolies were providing good service at reasonable rates.  That simple idea was somehow lost in the deregulation fervor of the ‘90s, at great cost to the ratepayers and the economy.  Too few of us in the Maryland legislature envisioned a decline in service and an increase in rates if electric utilities were deregulated; we opposed that initiative but take no satisfaction in having been right.  If anything good comes out of this summer of power outages, perhaps it will be a return to a more balanced approach to regulating our public utilities.

I would love to hear from you, dear Blog reader!  What advice or request would YOU have wanted your State Senator to deliver to PEPCO this evening?  Please send an email to Blog@CherylKagan.org or click on the "Comments" link below to express your views.  Please be sure to indicate which post (#76) you're addressing.

Thanks for reading.  I will post again soon.