Wednesday, January 9, 2013
The Maryland Public Service Commission ruled Monday that customers will have additional options, which may include opting out of smart meters.
Annapolis utilities customers may have more options when it comes to smart meters at their homes and businesses thanks to a ruling by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) on Monday. In a split decision, the PSC voted to require Baltimore Gas & Electric, Potomac Electric Power Company and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative provide to customers additional options for measuring the electricity used in their homes and businesses. One option would be to allow customers to keep their traditional, analog meters for an increased price. Anne Arundel County residents have complained about potential health consequences that they believe will occur from the smart meters' radio frequency (RF) emissions. BGE began installing smart meters in …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
As of 2 p.m., officials from the utilities company report that power has been restored to more than 133,000 customers.
Although the brunt of superstorm Sandy has passed, Baltimore Gas & Electric officials caution that additional outages are expected. New outages may occur over the next few days as tree and tree limbs weakened by the storm continue falling, according to a news release. As of 2:36 p.m., electric service was restored to more than 166,274 customers. The BGE current outages map shows that 150,705 customers are still without. More than 4,500 workers are assisting in ongoing restoration efforts, the release states. Customers are asked to report power outages and downed wires by calling 1-877-778-2222.
Deputy Harbormaster says if the water doesn't recede by high tide Tuesday night, it could cross Market Space.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Anna Staver
-
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
City Dock in downtown Annapolis flooded up to Randall Street and Memorial Circle as water levels rose by more than 4 feet on Tuesday morning due to the local impact of Hurricane Sandy. "She's almost ready to come over the boardwalk," Deputy Harbormaster Bill Brookes said. "It's the whole front section on Dock Street. It's up to the stores, but it's not over the bulkhead." Sveinn Storm, owner of Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory on Dock Street, spent the night in his shop running his pump. "It's not too bad, we stayed fairly dry," Storm said. "We didn't need the big pump until the city sewer starting failing ... I'm going to get my second pump soon." City officials expect the water level to crest at 4.8 feet on Tuesday morning sometime between …
Friday, October 26, 2012
The city is recommending residents prepare for potential power outages and property damage from Hurricane Sandy.
Annapolis officials are urging residents to prepare for Hurricane Sandy, which is expected to bring high winds, high tides and heavy rain to the area early next week. “The Office of Emergency Preparedness and Risk Management is monitoring the storm closely so we can make important decisions to ensure the safety of our citizens,” said Mayor Josh Cohen. “At this point, the best thing we can all do is prepare residents and businesses.” The storm, dubbed a "Frankenstorm" by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is about 480 miles from Charleston, SC with winds of about 80 miles per hour, according to a city press release. Hurricane Sandy slammed Cuba on Thursday with heavy rain and winds around 110 miles per hour. By Friday …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Arundel on the Bay residents met with BGE representatives to try and find solutions to what they see as frequent power outage problems.
Representatives from Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) spent a few hours on Tuesday morning working to repair its relationship with residents from Arundel on the Bay. "There is a part of me that's really incredulous," resident Tim Hamilton said. "I've never lived in a place where people buy generators like they live in a third world country." Arundel on the Bay customers have experienced sustained outages—meaning longer than five minutes—29 times since 2006 while neighboring communities like Hillsmere Shores have lost power just 5 times, according to statistics compiled by BGE. During June's derecho storm many community members commiserated about being out of power for up to six days. These extended outages pose additional complications for…
Friday, July 27, 2012
Baltimore Gas and Electric filed a request Friday with the state to increase the monthly rates Maryland customers pay in order to make improvements to its power system.
Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) customers could soon see their electric bills go up by $7.22 per month and their gas bills by $4.62 per month, according to the Capital Gazette. The company filed a request Friday with Maryland's Public Service Commission (PSC) to increase gas and electric distribution rates for both residential and commercial customers. “There’s never a good time to seek a rate adjustment, especially now that we know so many of our customers are struggling in this economy,” BGE spokesman Rob Gould told the Capital. “But not making these adjustments is not an alternative if we want to keep delivering (gas and electric) efficiently, reliably and safely to our customers.” BGE plans to spend about $3 billion on systems …
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Maryland Public Service Commission will hold a hearing Aug. 13 in Annapolis for public commentary on how BGE preformed in restoring power after the June 29 storm.
Maryland wants to hear from Annapolis residents about how Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) handled power restoration after the June 29 storm. A public hearing will be held in the joint hearing room of the Legislative Services Building at 90 State Circle at 7 p.m. on Aug. 13, according to a press release from the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC). The PSC, which regulates BGE, is reviewing how the utility company preformed in its power restoration efforts, according to CBS Baltimore. The company had three weeks from the storm's date to provide the commission with a detailed report, and PSC can impose fines or require utility companies to make improvements as a result of its investigation. It took BGE employees eight days to …
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Here's a quick look back at the biggest headlines of the week.
Annapolis Police Raid 2 Homes Near Clay Street Annapolis Police simultaneously raided two houses Wednesday afternoon and found heroin, marijuana, stolen handguns and thousands of dollars in cash. Two Annapolis men were also arrested. Cortez Marshall, 19, was arrested at a home in the 100 block of West Washington Street, and Robert Vonzell Taylor, 44, was arrested in a home in the unit block of Pleasant Street. Annapolis Home Partially Collapses in Fire A house fire in the 1600 block of Coventry Place in Annapolis closed surrounding streets for about two hours Wednesday evening while dozens of firefighters worked to put out the flames. The fire originated in the homeowner's basement after lightning struck a steel gas pipe and caused …
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
City officials said a map that shows Annapolis' power outages exclusively rather than lumping it in with Anne Arundel County is key to advancing the city's emergency management services.
Officials with Annapolis' Office of Emergency Preparedness and Risk Management (OEM) said they think having a map that focuses exclusively on power outages in Annapolis will improve how the city helps vulnerable populations during extended service disruptions. So, Director Kevin Simmons has decided to ask Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. (BGE) to create one. BGE's current outage map shows Annapolis as part of the larger Anne Arundel County region, and it's nearly impossible to figure out how many city residents are without power at any given time. "We want to work with BGE to narrowly define an outages map for Annapolis," Simmons said. "NOAA created a customized map to let us know when the Severn is flooding." A few years ago Simmons …
M French
9:00 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
The emf fields around these units are dangerous. It's like cell phones - the makers deny any proof available of the danger associated with these contraptions, but strangely people come down with cancer from emf fields and people who use cell phones regularity are getting tumors on the side of their heads where they place the phones. If that isn't enough proof I don't know what is!!!! more ›