I think after all the minor storms where BG&E customers have been out of power for WEEKS, we get it that they we will NOT have power from Frankenstorm.....DUH???

Since they know the storm is coming why don't they have the out of State crews on their way so that they are here when the storm hits instead of waiting until afterwards and then have to wait 2 day for them to get here. Oh thats right it will cost them money and cut into their profits.

The news last night said extra crews are coming from Oklahoma and Texas. Would Fran like to pay for them and their trucks to be flown in?

Here at Belair Engineering we are busy installing emergency standby home generators. It takes time to install a generator and pass all the required inspections and upgrade gas meters or LP tanks. I wish we could install next day but it's just not possible. Don Risher VP Belair Engineering info@belaireng.com

BG@E is never prepared. The closest shelter to me is 25 miles away. I cannot envision driving in an area with downed wires. During the last storm my house literally fell down. I wonder what will happen this time???? Gerri

WE need to plan for outages? Excuse me, but shouldn't BGE be the one that needs to plan? And when I say plan, not when the power goes out, people are dying and their customers don't have power for weeks. Then and only then does BGE call in the troops. What they need to do is stop the outages BEFORE they happen! Growing up in the late fifties into the sixties if power went out, it was hours AND the same day it was restored, unlike their lousy track record of today. Having NEVER lived near water, but living in Howard County, BGE got me with a three day outage once which scarred me for life!

I got a phone call this morning from BGE telling me what to do. I am glad they are preparing seriously for this storm. It took me 4 days to get thru to them to report the outage at my house. So, we will see, how it goes. Got my lanterns from camping store, flash lights, batteries (lots of batteries) and battery powered fans to help with air circulation. Also, have books, paper ready too.

Be prepared!

Fill up your gas tank, buy plenty of batteries for your flashlights, make sure you have enough medication, have enough food for you AND your pets!

Google how to be PREPARED!

If we have an extended loss of power and my husband has trouble breathing and his emergency inhaler is not enough he needs to use is nebulizer and that needs power. I was very surprised I didn't see crews out cutting tree limbs so they won't fall on lines as a preventive toll to save the power from going off. The last time we lost power we were told to go to the er with my husband or get a hotel room, of course BG&E wouldn't pay for either. Looks like Hubby will be living at work monday & tuesday so he can use hi neb.

I would think that by now, those of us who have ever lived through a power outage and especially those with medical problems who must rely on electricity would have invested in either a gas generator or a whole house generator to take care of those must have appliances. A gas generator is not all that expensive, but of course if you wait until the last minute to buy one, you may not be able to find one. The people who repair those downed wires are only human, just like you and me. Cut them some slack. they do the best they can and remember while they are up on some pole fixing wires in your neighborhood it's very likely that power is out in their neighborhood, too. Get yourself ready and you won't be singing the blues. Just sayin'.

I find it amazing to read some of the complaints here. BGE is not responsible for the storm. BGE spends millions yearly trimming trees and other "vegetation", as they put it in their newsletters. Just because you don't see them, doesn't mean they're not out there. Maybe not at your house, but they're there.
They have brought in 2000 extra workers for this storm, which may or may not cause a lot of damage, as no one can predict, 100% how it will travel, and how fast. Now, if there is damage, BGE will be criticized for not having enough extra manpower, if it fails to materialize, then they will be criticized as fools for wasting money, and everybody will gripe when rates go up. BGE can't win, either way.
If you need power for a health issue, you should have had an emergency generator a long time ago.
If you're worried that you live in a very remote spot, leave now. It's not BGE's fault that you didn't take precautionary measures.
I agree with Joyce. I have seen those workers in some situations where most of us would run away.
It's your job to be prepared.

Since the weather is unpredictable and I am not willing to have my rates increased to pay for the power company to fully harden and install redundant supply lines to my home, I take the responsibility to prepare myself and my family. I do not give into the hype of the storm hoarders. The weather reporters are going to hype storms in order to increase their audience. The stores are going to hype storms because the masses suddenly buy in bulk. Do you think buying an extra box of pop tarts and a pack of D batteries is truly sufficient preparation? Really?

The rage against BG&E is almost comical. This thing called "wind" blows these other things called "trees" and branches fall on power lines. It's called "weather." Now, if you want BG&E to invest billions of dollars and spend...oh, about 50 years putting the entire state's power lines underground then fine. Until then, unless you think BG&E can control falling trees and branches, then deal with power outages, and get a grip.

C'mon people!!! It will be a few days to 5 without electricity. If you are in generally good health this should be a cake walk. It is not the season we will need heat or AC so that issue is moot. If you have electric needs for medical or any other reason it is YOUR responsibility NO ONE ELSE'S to make sure you have the electric you need. A $300 generator will provide that and that $300 investment in your health is yours and no one else's to make.
If you are older and not able to do some things to prepare THAT is what family and friends and neighbors are for. Don't be afraid to ASK for help if you need it because may are more than willing to help you through. Its what neighbors do.

The rage shouldn't be against BG&E, as individuals in society the question remains, what steps has one taken to ensure the safety of his or her family and the community at large?
Are trees on an individual’s property above or around power lines? Or are your neighbor’s trees? How about the community one lives in? If the answer is yes to any of the questions, it’s not BG&E’s responsibility to prune the trees.

“Outages are rare except in except in severe floods”…. Every year a storm hits the mid-Atlantic region, if one speaks of infrastructure regarding power in older neighborhoods, the cost would be unbearable.
Between environmental permits, wetlands, and crossing individual’s property, it would be a nightmare for any incorporation to install underground utilities in existing neighborhoods. If I am not mistaken, businesses are in business to make money or at least that’s the share holder’s intent.

I have to chime in on this as well...there are men & women from all over the country trying to help MD folks restore power.

Be grateful and quit complaining.

These folks are away from their families, missing birthdays, anniversaries and friends.

The cost would not be unbearable, as I have said, Europe have acheived. Remember, it would be a shared cost between BG&E, Comcast and Verizon.
If Verizon can lay fiber optic the whole length of I95 and Rte 40, this CAN be done. Once it is done, BG&E won't have to pay for thousands of crews and trucks to come visit every year.

I have friends who just got their power on last night (Carney/Parkville area) and it was hard on them. However, they planned well and had enough supplies, are in good health etc. They did have a network of friends and family to visit for hot showers and meals, so although it was a long, cumbersome outage, they did OK considering. I finally broke down and bought a generator, enough to power four reasonable items at once. While we were fortunate not to have to use it during Sandy, it's good to know it's there.

I'm of the camp that doesn't rage at BGE, but I truthfully don't know the whole story or I could comment more appropriately I guess. I'm listening and reading though!

John, I believe you are comparing "apples to oranges" on this one. Living there, I do not recall a lot of power outages however, their infrastructure is a lot to be desired. For instance I lived on the economy in a small town in Germany where my house was connected to a work shop. I later realized that I was paying for the power for the house and workshop because they were on the same power source. They don't use meters like we do here in the states.

@number9dream
Yes they are publicly traded.

@FIFA
The source is myself. I have lived in several countries in Europe, and ran a multinational, which meant a LOT of travelling throughout Europe.

The source you cite related to 400kV powerlines which are carrying power from a generating source. These are cables on pylons, not poles, and this particular cable crossed the alps, where it is geoligically impossible to bury them, Also note the average outage was 3 hours, with the longest outage being 12 hours. The innefectivness of ENEL, the Italian energy supplier, meant there were rolling blackout for two days, as they scrambled to get ther natinal grid working properly.
3 hours, or 12 hours - it's a lot different that what many Marylanders have to suffer.

@number9dream
All roads require resurfacing; that is the time to deal with this.
This is a one time cost, whereas pulling crews from around the country every year is using up the funds that should go towards updating the infrastructure.

Power poles and excessive signage turn this state from a beautiful state to something that is now outdated and a little scruffy.

One reason BGE mentioned with the high cost of running lines under ground was the variances and easements that they would have to deal with. I agree with you to a point but this would be a collective effort from government and commercial entities and I do not have a lot of faith with our state and local government to broker the deal. Also, in my neighborhood our power lines are underground and since the rezoning of power, we lose power often and for a long time. During Sandy I lost power for 2 1/2 days.

@FIFA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_windstorm#Notable_windstorms
I was actually on a cross-chanell fery from France to England when the totally unpredicted 1987 storm hit.

Okay hypothetically speaking, what happens if there is an issue with the lines. Then the roads have to be dug up, correct? So, the way my lines are buried they are laid underground next to the road. There's a lot of logistics involved and unfortunately I am not an expert. I agree with underground power lines but there are still problems with the existing infrastructure. I still lost power for 2 1/2 days

John, obviously I think our infrastructure is very frail and faces unpredictable challenges in the future with the obvious climate change that is cyclical. Pay now or pay later. MD was sparred a major hit unlike NY and NJ. We were lucky.

You should also know that some of the people you are responding to have numerous AKA's and have very little creditability. Just click non their names and read their comments.

It's easy for people to make comments seated in front of their warm house with their computers and power. Did I mention gasoline?

The cost to maintain buried power lines would be cut enormously...the tree maintenance alone is crushing...cost of power could eventually be reduced because of maintenance savings...would be good for future generations...

The properties are expensive established http://www.coachoutletstoreps.com/Coach Outlet Store Online estates run between $1m and $8m, while undeveloped land costs from $3,000 to $5,000 per hectare, http://www.coachoutletonlinebd.com/Coach Outlet Online according to Luis Bonsegnor, president of Buenos Aires-based Christie's affiliate ReMind Group, which is http://www.coachoutletyo.com/Coach Outlet offering the 2,500-hectare estate Lago Bueno for $13m.Most of the buyers come from Europe and the US, says Bonsegnor, who http://www.guccibeltsmb.net/Gucci Belt adds that his firm makes two to four lodge sales each year.The properties always include their own water sources and are close to http://www.coachoutletonlinexc.net/Coach Factory Outlet an airport.At the opposite extreme is Portugal, whose upper-end real estate market has proved buoyant http://www.coachoutletstoreze.com/Coach Factory Outlet despite price decreases of between 4.5 and 15 per cent in nearby Paris and Rome, according to Knight Frank's http://www.guccibeltsoutletds.net/Gucci Belts early November Global Cities Guide. Local agents say Portugal's resiliency amid three years of economic contraction http://www.coachfactoryonlinefn.net/Coach Factory Outlet is a result of timing, smart planning, and good luck.