WORK SESSION of the Greenbelt City Council held Wednesday, January 31, 2001, for the purpose of meeting with representatives of Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco) & the Maryland Public Service Commission to discuss momentary power outages (PSC).

The meeting began at 8:05 p.m. It was held in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Community Center.

PRESENT WERE: Council members Rodney M. Roberts and Thomas X. White, and Mayor Judith F. Davis.

STAFF PRESENT WAS: David E. Moran, Assistant to the City Manager

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Chrys Wilson, Public Service Commission; Jane Verner, Chester Knapp, Reginald McCauley, Wanda Brown and Therese Yewell, Pepco; Aaron Johns and Steven Jascourt, residents; Amy Boyes, The Gazette and Barbara Young, News Review

Ms. Wilson began by stating that she had spoken with Chairman Riley and the Commission was very concerned about this issue. She requested that Pepco follow-up and provide a written to report to PSC about how they planned to address this situation.

Ms. Verner made a presentation showing how the power is distributed in Greenbelt, the history of outages and the corrective steps that Pepco had taken. These corrective actions included: installing additional animal guards (She displayed a sample.) and additional fusing, replacement of lighting arresters and some crossarms on Prince James Way and tree trimming near Centerway. Ms. Verner indicated that in the future Pepco planned to install smart relays and motor operated disconnect switches as well as perform additional tree trimming.

Ms. Verner stressed that the main causes for momentary outages are tree limbs, squirrels or other animals and occasional equipment failure. When asked about the number of outages identified in her presentation as "unknown", Ms. Verner indicated that unknown means that Pepco could not easily identify a cause or conduct a visual inspection, but these were likely caused by animals or tree limbs also.

Several questions were raised regarding the number of momentary outages in other similar communities (with trees & squirrels) like Hyattsville and Berwyn Heights. Pepco noted that every neighborhood is different but agreed to provide the City with comparison data about momentary outages in other communities such as Berwyn Heights and Hyattsville during the same time period.

Pepco agreed to carefully monitor and track future momentary outages and provide the City with a report in 3 or 4 months, along with comparison data of nearby similar communities during the same time period.

Mr. Jascourt raised several questions about correspondence he had submitted to Pepco regarding outages. Ms. Verner responded that it normally takes 30 days for Pepco to investigate and respond. Mr. Jascourt noted a particular letter where it had taken several months to receive a response.

Ms. Wilson was particularly concerned about poor customer response by Pepco and told the Pepco representatives that this situation needed to improve.

On a related matter, Mayor Davis asked how long it normally takes to replace street light bulbs once they are reported. Mr. McCauley responded that it normally takes 5 days.

Mayor Davis thanked everyone for attending.

The meeting ended at 9:10 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

David E. Moran
Assistant to the City Manager

City of Greenbelt, Maryland
City Offices, 25 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Phone: 301-474-8000 FAX: 301-441-8248