More than 70,000 Pepco customers lost electricity during a thunderstorm last July, so the regional utility company is readying for this summer’s gales to ensure power outages are short and rare.
Pepco conducted a summer readiness demonstration Tuesday at its service center in Rockville to show how utility workers would handle everything from a disconnected power line to a fallen tree. Linemen carried out the demonstration as veteran lineman Dana Thomas narrated the process of restoring electricity after a power line had been disrupted.
In the “line down” scenario, Mr. Thomas cleared the area for safety, de-energized the wire, removed the obstruction (in this case, a tree limb) and took down the line. The line was raised, the transformer turned on and voila! “everybody has power,” he said.
A key aspect of Pepco’s preparation for the summer storm season is its relationship with emergency response organizations.
“Our partnerships with these emergency management communities are critical not only to how we prepare the store, but also to how our customers and communities and their emergency planning and their preparations,” said Pete Pedersen, manager of Pepco emergency preparedness.
Summer preparation includes inspecting equipment, laying cables, trimming trees and replacing infrastructure, said Tammy Sanford, Pepco’s director of electric operations.
She said the utility has had a 57% reduction in the frequency of outages over the last 10 years and Pepco customers last year had the lowest frequency of power outages on record.
While the power company has a “strong and robust system,” Ms. Sanford said it’s still vulnerable to weather phenomena like extreme heat, thunderstorms and hurricanes.
Mr. Pederson urged customers to stay safe during storms, keep away from any downed power lines and report them to the utility immediately.
Pepco customers sign up for alerts about outage information and severe weather, and those on electrical life support systems are encouraged to sign up for Pepco’s emergency medical equipment notification program.
Mr. Pederson also suggested that customers maintain a supply of non-perishable food, bottled water, extra batteries, a flashlight on every floor of the home, and backup cellphone chargers in the case of an outage.
And Mara Parker, climate adaptation program manager for Montgomery County, advised customers to create a family emergency plan before any summer storms.
Mr. Thomas said he and his crew are working on repairing power lines 24/7. “It’s every day here — weekends, holidays … so there’s someone always here,” he said.
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