Power Outages during Snow Storms

February 23, 2010
The Honorable Isiah Leggett
Montgomery County Executive
101 Monroe Street
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Dear Mr. Leggett:
The Mid-County Citizens Advisory Board (MCCAB) would like to express our
deep concern regarding the overwhelming number of power outages experienced in
Montgomery County during the recent back to back snow storms and the threat to public
safety that this loss created. We were alarmed to learn that on February 6th PEPCO
reported 88,000 customers without power. The breakdown included 78,000 in
Montgomery County; 7,700 in Prince George’s; and 2,200 in the District of Columbia.
While we realize the historical significance of these snowstorms, we remain puzzled as to
why the volume of outages was so lopsided with Montgomery County experiencing
88 percent of the reported outages.
The MCCAB believes there must be an underlying cause for the discrepancy.
This situation must be studied and remedied as soon as possible. Specifically, we would
like to know the causes of the severity of the outages.
We urge you to initiate a comprehensive review of the outage situation within the
next 60 days to determine what is necessary to prevent another such occurrence. This
may include proper and better regulation of PEPCO, adjustment of County policies which
may impede line maintenance, and/or adjustment of any related County budget items for
additional tree maintenance and trimming.
On behalf of the residents of the Mid-County regional area we thank you for your
consideration of our concerns.
Sincerely,
Sheldon Fishman
Chair
cc: County Councilmembers