Pepco tells Maryland customers, "It's not us"

The most recent two U.S. presidents have had to get used to having their likeness slapped onto gas pumps via "I did that!" stickers, when their policy decisions have led to rising gas prices. Less eager to take credit for exploding electricity bills is Pepco, which is once again taking pains to inform customers that government is indeed the problem. "Higher energy bills can be challenging, and we want you to understand what's driving those changes," the Exelon-owned utility explained in a message to ratepayers with this month's bill. And explain they do, but not as extensively as they should, requiring us to employ the Annapolis Anger Translator (AAT) for full disclosure.

First culprit on the list is the regional grid operator PJM. Pepco notes that PJM "is increasing electricity supply prices for our area. Pepco does not generate electricity or set these prices — we pass these charges through directly to customers with no markup. These increases are due to factors such as higher demand and tight energy supply."

Using the AAT, we can expand on this to learn that the actual electricity rates paid by consumers in Maryland are set by the Maryland Public Service Commission, a body appointed by...whoops!...the governor of Maryland, and approved by the Democratic-controlled Maryland State Senate. 

Why is there a "tight energy supply?" Perhaps because Maryland elected officials forced the closure of 8 power plants across the state. As a result, Maryland itself can no longer generate enough power to supply the demands of residents and businesses, and is now forced to import electricity from out-of-state at inflated boardwalk prices.

Pepco also highlights the EmPOWER MD surcharge that appears on your monthly bill. Like many other "sneak taxes," elected officials hope that you will assume these taxes, fees, and surcharges are being levied by the service provider, not your corrupt leaders. The reality is that this surcharge was levied by the Maryland General Assembly in Annapolis. It is a Karl Marxian Communist initiative of the highest order. Your hard-earned money goes into a slush fund used to pay for "green" upgrades to poor people's homes. From each according to his abilities...well, you get the idea.

Not mentioned is the latest hoax: data centers, the latest pass-the-buck punching bag for politicians trying to divert public attention from their direct role in the affordability crisis. No, data centers in Maryland are not the reason your Pepco bill keeps going up. It's a boogeyman far more familiar to you: your unfriendly neighborhood elected official. The call is indeed coming from inside the house.

Maryland electricity supply so low, out-of-state power needed after leaders shut 8 power plants

Opponents of Maryland elected officials' energy-choking Green New Deal policies have been vindicated on two fronts as the new year gets underway. Among the arguments made by businesses, energy companies, and Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly was that monthly utility bills would rise for Maryland residents. Sure enough, late last week, electric utility Pepco informed customers that their bills would rise at least 5% beginning this month, due to Maryland officials' approval of a new surcharge on electric and gas utilities last year. Maryland Green New Deal opponents also predicted that legislators' plan to force the closure of 8 power plants across the state, and require electricity to increasingly be purchased from "green" sources, would not only add to rate hikes, but reduce the state's electricity supply. Now we have confirmation that Maryland's electricity supply has fallen so low, and so inadequate to meet demand, that more electricity will have to be imported from out-of-state at great cost.

PJM, which operates Maryland's electric grid, has contracted with the Public Service Enterprise Group to construct a new, 70-mile power line through Carroll, Frederick, and Baltimore counties. The estimated cost of construction will be $424 million, The Washington Post reported. PSEG stated in a press release that Maryland's electric grid will face "severe and widespread reliablity issues as determined by PJM" if the new power line is not constructed. PJM Vice-President Paul McGlynn cited the retirement of the eight Maryland power plants as the reason out-of-state power is now needed, as demand simultaneously rises.

McGlynn predicted that Maryland electric utility customers would experience "extreme conditions such as system collapse and blackouts if [the lack of electricity supply is] not addressed." This is exactly what opponents of Maryland officials' Green New Deal predicted would happen, and has already been experienced by customers in California and many developing countries like Cuba. 

The shuttered Gen On power plant in Dickerson, MD

One would be on solid ground in making a new prediction: that out-of-state power will be more expensive than power generated in Maryland, and certainly more expensive than that formerly generated by the eight coal-fired power plants our elected officials shut down statewide in recent years. Those "boardwalk prices," like the new EmPOWER MD surcharge, will be passed onto ratepayers. 

Our elected officials are clueless about how the business world works, as evidenced by their failure to attract major corporate headquarters to Maryland this century. But they don't even understand that new costs and taxes on business aren't paid by corporations; they are passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.

The new power line may wind up crossing farmland and sensitive environmental areas, which has raised opposition to the proposal by groups such as Stop MPRP. PSEG said that its current proposed route for the power line was chosen because it would have the least such impacts, and avoid passing near as many homes and businesses as possible. The irony is that the disruptive new power line might not have been necessary if the eight power plants had been allowed to continue operating, and if Maryland elected officials had spent less time on woke virtue-signaling legislation, and more time exploring construction of new nuclear plants instead of ineffective and costly wind power. 

We've seen how dereliction of duty by our elected officials can have negative knock-on effects down the road in the past, with our unfinished freeway system. Cancellation of the new Potomac River crossing connecting the InterCounty Connector with the Dulles area in Virginia, the Rockville Freeway, and the M-83 Highway resulted in more recent proposals for widening I-495 and I-270 that would impact or demolish homes along those interstates. If those master plan highways had been built, the recent Express Lanes proposal would not have been necessary.

Instead, the Maryland Green New Deal energy policies that have yet to have any major impact on climate change or air quality could wind up causing actual negative impacts on the environment in Carroll, Frederick, and Baltimore counties. Despite closing eight power plants, Maryland's spikes in ozone and particle pollution "are the worst they've been in 25 years," the American Lung Association reported in 2024. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Maryland 2025 utility bills increase under Wes Moore, MD Gen. Assembly plan

"We helped lower utility bills," Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) declared in a New Year's Eve video recapping the 2024 legislative "accomplishments" of his office and colleagues in the Maryland General Assembly. As Maryland utility customers are beginning to realize as 2025 begins, Moore lied. Pepco has just informed customers that, beginning this month, their electric bills will be increasing by at least 5%. The reasons? Laws passed by our elected officials in Annapolis.

While our elected officials try to hide new taxes and fees by having businesses collect them, such as bag taxes, Pepco has been upfront in their billing communications about government being the reason for the new charges and increases. In their message to customers, Pepco cites the new "EmPOWER MD" surcharge of 4% that was rammed through the legislature and signed by Moore in 2023. Moore and those in the legislature who supported the increased surcharge to energy utilities knew full well that the amount would be passed on directly to utility customers. This is theft, not "efficiency."

A second reason Pepco cites is that it is facing a 1% increase in its supply costs, a direct result of "supply and demand by generator plants." Why is the supply of electricity down? Because the same Maryland legislature has ordered the closure of not one, not two, but eight coal-fired power stations across the state over the last 13 years. With AI, data centers, and electric vehicles contributing to an all-time high in energy demands, Maryland is trending in the opposite direction of dwindling supply and rising costs.

In claiming to have lowered residents' utility bills, Gov. Moore lied. His claim would earn Four Pinocchios, if The Washington Post were to fact check our local elected officials' frequent false claims. They don't. Kudos to Pepco for telling the truth.

Thousands still reporting power outages in Montgomery County the day after thunderstorm hits area

Pepco crews staging at a 7-Eleven store
in Montgomery County this morning

Over 10,000 Pepco customers remain without power this morning in Montgomery County, but that number is down about 60,000 from the height of last evening's thunderstorm damage. The weather event, and resulting tree and power line damage, has been one of the few significant tests for Pepco since the electric utility was acquired by Exelon in 2016. Yesterday's storm appeared deceptively routine for late summer, but spawned straight line winds in areas like North Bethesda and Rockville, and had some in Northwest Washington, D.C. reporting a tornado in their community.

Southwest Bethesda neighborhoods like Springfield, Sumner, Wood Acres, Bannockburn and Spring Hill are still experiencing significant power outages. Grid resiliency issues reared their head again in the Westbard area long after skies had cleared Saturday night. Residents there who were fortunate enough to retain power after the storm last night report experiencing brownouts at 2:12 AM and 4:32 AM. The 4:32 AM brownout was an extended one, as after a split-second blackout that ravaged appliance motors, light fixtures were shimmering and flickering until all power was lost around 4:45 AM. Power was then restored around 4:48 AM. Interestingly, both brownout episodes reported seem to coincide with brand new power outages in the Westbard and Wood Acres/Searl Terrace areas, which the Pepco outage map indicates were reported at 2:15 AM (Searl Terrace) and 4:53 AM (Westbard Avenue). This morning's brownouts follow three sunny day brownouts in the Westbard area two weeks ago.

In North Bethesda, apartment building residents reported being in the dark Saturday night, and outages persist around Grosvenor, Garrett Park, Tilden Lane, Randolph Hills and the Randolph Road corridor this morning. Things aren't looking much better in the Twinbrook and Rollins Park areas of Rockville.

Aspen Hill is still smarting today with many outages. Fortunately for those without air conditioning, today's high will "only" be 85 degrees, instead of the 99 degree peak experienced last Friday. Outages also persist around Leisure World, Bel Pre Road, Wheaton, Kensington, Kemp Mill, Takoma Park, Hillandale, Colesville and Fairland. 

The storm appears to have cut a straight path across Montgomery Village, Goshen, and Laytonsville, judging from the large number of outages there. Outages remain in the Kentlands, Montgomery College-Germantown campus, Olney and Sandy Spring areas. 

Massive power outage across Montgomery County - UPDATE: Gaithersburg plane crash victims rescued

UPDATE - 12:48 AM, November 28: Both occupants of the plane have been successfully rescued, and are on the ground, Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard said. They are being transported to local hospitals with serious injuries, Fire Chief Goldstein announced, a change from earlier announcements that there were no injuries. 

UPDATE - 12:25 AM, November 28: Pepco reports tremendous progress in power restoration, with only 1,297 customers remaining without power at this moment. Utility workers are using a bucket truck to ground the Pepco tower and transmission lines so that the rescue effort can finally get underway sometime this morning.

UPDATE - 11:50 PM: Pepco claims to have restored power to over 60% of customers affected by the power outage over the last hour. It reports there are now 34,688 customers still without electricity.

UPDATE - 11:30 PM: Montgomery County Public Schools will be closed Monday, November 28, 2022, due to the power outage. MCPS offices will also be closed Monday.

UPDATE - 10:01 PM: Maryland State police have identified the pilot of the plane as Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington, D.C., and the passenger as Jan Williams, 66, of Louisiana. Both are still on-board awaiting rescue, and are reportedly not injured.  Their aircraft is a Mooney Mike 20P single engine plane. Pepco reports more customers are without power than ever tonight, with 113,081 now in the dark at this hour. Montgomery County Public Schools says it will make an announcement about potential school closures later tonight.

UPDATE - 9:05 PM: Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein reports that Pepco crews have to manually climb up to ensure the tower is grounded. The plane must then be secured to the tower. A large crane from Digging and Rigging in Clarksburg has been brought in. Additional personnel resources are due to arrive on-scene at 9:30 PM. "One of our concerns is the safety of the occupants in the airplane, the safety of our fire and rescue personnel," Goldstein said. Goldstein confirmed there are two occupants in the plane. "I have no information, I'm not here to talk about power outages," he said. 

UPDATE - 8:55 PM: A Rockville resident near the Rockville Civic Center park reports their power has just been restored. However, the total number of Pepco customers without power has now climbed back to 76,160.

UPDATE - 8:34 PM: Occupants of the plane that crashed into the Pepco tower have not yet been rescued. The number of Pepco customers without power in Montgomery County has dropped from 80,922 to 75,672.

UPDATE - 6:03 PM: Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Pete Piringer reports that the power outage has been caused by a plane crash in the Montgomery Village/Gaithersburg area. The plane is stuck in a Pepco tower and power lines, Piringer said. Passengers on board are so far reported to be uninjured.

Pepco customers across Montgomery County are in the dark, after what appears to be a massive system failure. 78,944 customers are currently without power, according to the utility's outage map. In fact, over 20,000 more customers lost power just since I began typing this article. There is no violent weather in the area. 

Virtually all of the outages are in the central and eastern part of the county, but residents in several areas of Bethesda report that their lights flashed multiple times, power fluctuations that can damage appliances and devices. Few of the outages are west of I-270, in Rockville and Germantown. Some of the biggest outages are in Derwood, Aspen Hill, Olney and Wheaton. There are currently a couple of smaller outages in Bethesda - one in the Woodmont Triangle area, and another near the D.C.-Maryland border.

The outage follows a Thanksgiving on which power outages also occurred across the D.C. area. Stay tuned for further updates on the cause of the power outages.

Pepco makes donation to Montgomery College

Pepco has made a donation to Montgomery College, as part of a $650,000 package of donations to local community colleges and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The money will go to workforce development in the energy field, teacher training and scholarships, the Exelon-owned utility announced in a press release. Montgomery College has campuses in Rockville, Germantown and Takoma Park.

“We hope this funding helps open the door to educational opportunities that all too often are just a dream for many young people within our communities,” Rodney Oddoye, Senior Vice-President of Governmental, External and Regulatory Affairs for Pepco Holdings, said in a statement. “Through our partnerships with local community colleges, HBCUs, and workforce development programs like the DC Infrastructure Academy, we are not only expanding the possibilities for our youth, we are building the talent pool for the future energy workforce.”

Power outages in Rockville, Derwood

There are two small power outages in the Rockville area this morning. One is near the intersection of Edmonston Drive and Veirs Mill Road. The other is in Derwood, close to the intersection of Redland Road and Needwood Road. Pepco estimates power will be restored to customers in both outages by 1:00 PM this afternoon.

Pepco proposes microgrid for Rockville Town Center

Exelon infographic prepared for one of
its other utilities in Hartford, Connecticut

Pepco agreed to pilot microgrids as part of its merger agreement with Exelon. Tonight, the utility will officially propose creating a microgrid in Rockville Town Center. Two Pepco representatives will deliver a presentation on the proposal to the Mayor and Council at their meeting tonight at 7:00 PM.

A microgrid is a local power source that can operate even if disconnected from the larger Pepco grid. Solar batteries and natural gas could be utilized on whichever properties are ultimately selected to house the microgrid infrastructure. Potential properties will be discussed in tonight's presentation. No mention is made of the health impacts of a microgrid on nearby residents - if there are any.

Storm causes power outages in Rockville

Over 1000 Pepco customers are currently without power in Rockville, after a violent thunderstorm passed through Montgomery County. The majority of outages are between I-270 and the Rockville Pike corridor, in the West End, Rockville Town Center, College Gardens, Woodley Gardens and Lincoln Park/East Rockville areas.

Pepco is projecting restoration for these areas in the 6:00-7:00 PM hour tonight.

ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA

The Rockville Planning Commission meets tonight at 7:00 PM, in the Mayor and Council chambers at City Hall.

Before the public meeting, commissioners will meet in a closed, executive session to discuss Rules of Procedure.

On the agenda tonight, is a site plan application from PEPCO,  for several "green" structures.

There will also be a discussion of the Municipal Growth element of the city's Master Plan.