WORK SESSION of the Greenbelt City Council
Held Monday, March 1, 2004
For the purpose of meeting with representatives of PEPCO.

Mayor Davis started the meeting at 8:05 p.m. It was held in the Council Room of the Municipal Building.

PRESENT WERE: Councilmembers Konrad E. Herling, Leta M. Mach, Edward V.J. Putens, Rodney M. Roberts and Mayor Judith F. Davis.

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Michael P. McLaughlin, City Manager and David E. Moran, Assistant to the City Manager.

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Thomas Graham and Jack Wright, Pepco; Sheldon Goldberg, APB

Mayor Davis began by reporting that a resident had petitioned City Council with a specific solution for the outage that occurred in historic Greenbelt following Hurricane Isabel. She noted that Pepco had provided a response indicating that the location identified by the resident was not the cause of the problem. The resident had responded to Pepco’s response and did not believe this was the case. Mr. Wright reported that the Edmonston Road problem referenced by the resident was on a completely separate feeder and couldn’t have caused the Greenbelt outage.

Mayor Davis asked if the number of wires on poles was a problem. Mr. Wright responded that Pepco can install larger poles if necessary. Ms. Mach noted that at both the Edmonston and Hillside locations, the same size poles had been reinstalled. Mr. Wright indicated that Pepco has standards for poles and the amount of weight they can accommodate.

Mayor Davis then moved on to the larger issue of overall damage caused by Hurricane Isabel and Pepco’s response. Mr. Graham reported that this was an unusual and devastating event. He indicated that due to high winds, repair crews were not able to respond immediately because it wasn’t safe. He cited statistics to illustrate the magnitude of the storm.

Next, Mr. Graham discussed the Witt Report. He indicated that the report stated that Pepco needed a better disaster response and also an Emergency Management component within Pepco. Mr. Graham noted that an emergency manager had been hired.

Mr. Graham spoke about dry ice distribution. He indicated that the volume of demand from this storm was overwhelming. They disbanded the effort, because it wasn’t manageable. The dry ice supplier was not able to meet their demand.

Mr. Graham addressed external communications. He indicated that the number of calls overloaded their phone system and they also lacked the staff to respond to calls. He reported they were adding more people to answer calls.

Mr. Graham also discussed tree management. He indicated that Pepco was talking to County officials about ways to deal with trees and indicated the budget for tree trimming had been increased. He also noted that with the magnitude of the storm, additional trimming wouldn’t have solved the problem because large trees were felled on lines and trimming wouldn’t have solved the problem.

Finally, he reported that Pepco was working to improve reliability. Mr. Graham noted a new pilot project to improve reliability in a specific neighborhood.

Mr. Roberts asked about accessories on the power poles and if Pepco made any money off of these attachments. Mr. Graham responded that reliability and safety were the driving factor and that Pepco would not add attachments that were a detriment to reliability.

Mr. Graham discussed restoration priorities. He noted that public safety, sub station, main lines, lateral lines and smaller ticket items (transformers, fuses, etc.) were the priority order. He indicated that this was frustrating, because when Pepco restores a substation there is an assumption that power has been restored. He stressed customers needed to continue to call in and report outrages.

Mr. Roberts asked if crews were assigned to the same area on a regular basis so they could get to know an area. Mr. Graham responded that crews are dispatched from a main dispatch center.

Mr. Putens asked about outside (non Pepco) crews not knowing what to do. Mr. Graham indicated that there were some communication problems with outside crews.

Mayor Davis asked about customers with special medical needs. Mr. Graham responded that Pepco was trying to identify nursing and assisted living facilities, and was coordinating this effort with the County’s Emergency Management office.

Mayor Davis stressed how frustrating it was for people to not be able to get through on the phones and not get a straight answer about how long it would take. Mr. Graham responded that every storm is different and within a storm each damage situation was different. He stressed that Pepco was disappointed with their communication efforts.

Mr. Herling asked about an 18-24 month timeframe. Mr. Graham responded that this was the timeframe for the pilot reliability project. Mr. Herling asked about the improvements if there was another storm. Mr. Graham responded that better technology, better communication and better outreach/education were the improvements being made. He stressed the need to manage expectations.

Ms. Mach stated that the volume was large and the problems were understandable. She asked about an education effort before a problem occurs. Mr. Graham responded that Pepco was working on a comprehensive education effort now. He cited examples including: information on Pepco’s website; a press release going to all municipalities; use of the bill stuffer newsletter; and a speaker’s bureau.

Mr. Putens noted his power remained on in the aftermath of the storm. He asked if Pepco had updated its listing of people with medical needs. Mr. Graham indicated there was a registration procedure for people with this equipment. Mr. Putens suggested a messaging system using cellular phones to get messages to everyone with a cell phone.

Mayor Davis suggested that Pepco provide information to the City’s Community Resource Advocate and suggested that GATE could broadcast a Speaker’s Bureau program. Mayor Davis suggested that Pepco explain its restoration priorities to people.

Ms. Mach suggested educational activities in the schools on public safety and electrical outages. Mr. Graham indicated that Pepco does do some activities in school.

There was some discussion about Pepco’s phone answering system. Mr. Graham responded that Pepco was cross training employees in other areas how to handle calls so that they could be reassigned in an emergency situation.

Other Information

Mayor Davis announced that the City had been successful during its appearance before the State Board of Public Works.

Mr. McLaughlin provided an update on the planning and zoning issue. He noted that it was back before the Bi-County Committee on Wednesday at 8:00 am. He reported on an amendment by Delegate Brown and a suggested strategy for the three cities to pursue.

Mr. Roberts was not in favor of any compromise and stressed that the City was being discriminated against and it should have the same full authority as other municipalities in the State.

The meeting ended at 9:47 pm.

espectfully 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