Abnormal power cuts not isolated to Bowie

Public Service Commission looks into complaints against BGE in Upper Marlboro, Largo

The commission is examining a complaint from Evangel Cathedral in Largo that power surges have extensively damaged equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars.

‘‘We’ll be in the middle of service with 2,500 people and the next thing you know, the power goes out,” said Keith Matthews, administrator of Evangel Cathedral on Central Avenue just south of Bowie.

Matthews said power surges have resulted in damage to the church’s air conditioners, audio equipment, television sets, computers and other electronic items.

In all, Matthews said the church has spent $300,000 in repairs due to the power surges. The church now has to purchase devices to protect equipment from high voltage spikes, he said.

Matthews said the problem has been ongoing for 10 years, and that previous complaints to the Public Service Commission have gone unheeded. BGE has come out to the church to monitor the voltage, but nothing was said to the church about what problems existed, he said.

Gregory Carmean, executive director of the commission, said Monday he has received the complaint and the PSC is examining it, but would not comment further.

Linda Foy, a spokeswoman for BGE, said she could not comment on the issue because the investigation is ongoing.

Carmean said BGE, which provides electricity to Bowie, Laurel and parts of Upper Marlboro, Lanham and New Carrollton, does not have a widespread problem with its power supply. But state Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Dist. 23) of Bowie said he knows about power supply problems occurring along Central Avenue and other areas of his district.

Peters and Del. Gerron Levi (D-Dist. 23A) of Woodmore, have received complaints from homeowners’ associations in Woodmore and Cameron Grove. A reliable power supply has also been among the complaints by residents.

‘‘We’ve got some major issues about the delivery of electricity,” Peters said. ‘‘This whole issue of power is a bigger issue than just Bowie.”

Levi said the Woodmore communities had six to 12 outages in the last year, some lasting for days.

‘‘We met with [BGE] and they said they are making upgrades that will address the issue,” Levi said. ‘‘I’m interested to see if that works.”

The PSC, which regulates gas, electricity, telephone and other public utility companies, annually pinpoints the 100 worst feeders in the state and mandates the utility companies who operate those feeders to correct the problems. BGE officials said Monday that some Bowie feeders were on the list.

The commission requires power companies to submit a progress report when 10 percent of its customers lose power during a storm. Though the Valentine’s Day ice storm knocked power to many – about 28,000 in Bowie – BGE voluntarily submitted a report on how it performed during the storm, which the PSC is still reviewing, Carmean said.

Carmean said for the PSC to effectively address power issues, the commission needs to hear from the public.‘‘We always want to be made aware of reliability problems so we can better gauge the problem,” Carmean said.

Bowie residents have long complained about their power supply reliability, especially power outages during fair-weather days. BGE officials briefed the city Monday about their efforts during the Feb. 14 ice storm, and BGE announced an aggressive tree-trimming program aimed at reducing storm-related outages.

Carmean said many Bowie power lines are near trees that can topple over and create outages.

Peters said he has encouraged the homeowners’ associations near Bowie to complain about the problems.

‘‘I’m not going to be happy until we get this thing solved,” he said. ‘‘We keep talking about it, but the problem still exists.”

Residents who live outside of Bowie’s city limits can lodge complaints with the PSC by writing to the Office of External Relations, Public Safety Commission, 6th St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21202.

Matthews said he hopes to have a resolution with BGE soon.

‘‘We just want it to stop, that’s all we’re looking for,” Matthews said. ‘‘We’re not looking for restitution. We just want to solve this and move on.”

E-mail Jason Flanagan at jflanagan@gazette.net.

To file a complaint

Residents who live outside of Bowie’s city limits can lodge complaints with the Public Service Commission by writing to the Office of External Relations, Public Safety Commission, 6th Saint Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21202