Should I feel comforted by the PEPCO call saying they won't restore pwr for many days?

[Anonymous]

I can't decide how I feel about being informed in advance. As someone who's lived thru PEPCO's pathetic response to Isabel and everything after, I think I'm more irritated than I would otherwise be at this "sorry in advance!! " washing of the hands

[Anonymous]

Ugh. Where do you live?

[Anonymous]

Haha. I just got the call too. Way to manage expectations pepco!

[Anonymous]

Anything that Pepco says and does right now is irritating. To me, this is better than their typical response of either not saying anything and taking days to get it done, or assuring you it will be done within the next few hours and then taking days to get it done. And I did read that they have some extra crews already here.

[Anonymous]

What exactly do you expect of the power company during a natural disaster? They are already working around the clock when these things happen to restore power as quickly as possible. They're not just sitting around doing nothing.

[Anonymous]

I'm not defending Pepco, but this biggest problem NC, VA, MD and on up are going to face is the fact they won't be able to help each other which is going to slow repairs in all states drastically. Typically if NC is hit hard, than the other states jump in and lend a hand, but this time every state is going to be on their own. Plus any help coming from other states is going to get split.

It's just a really bad storm impacting lots of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What exactly do you expect of the power company during a natural disaster? They are already working around the clock when these things happen to restore power as quickly as possible. They're not just sitting around doing nothing.

You must have some other electic company. Pepco really is terrible. At least this time they requested outside help ahead of time when indicated by the weather forcast, unlike the last big storm we had that knocked power out for a while.

[Anonymous]

I didn't get this call, and I have Pepco in Montgomery County. What did they say? Really that it would be "many days" before restoration? Although that's not a big surprise. I lost power for four days during the snow in January.

[Anonymous]

THey are just being realistic. We will probably have scattered but widespread outages, some of which won't be repaired for several days. Scattered means that your power might be out but your neighbhors might have it. So if your power is out for a while you may well be able to move in with a friend, go to a hotel etc., move freezer items to your sister's house, etc.

Unlike after Isabel when power was out everywhere foe a long time Still to be safe, go ahead and assume you will lose power for at least 3 days, and plan accordingly.

And yes, OP, you have every right to be annoyed with PEPCO. They suck!

[Anonymous]

I know I'm jinxing myself but I live in SFH in DC, have PEPCO, and have never lost power for more than an hour or so. Not even during the big snow storm. I only mention SFH because we are surrounded by huge trees than tend to fall on powerlines. I'm wondering if this storm is going to be our first power-less experience!

[Anonymous]

It's better they tell people in advance so people will prepare for long outages. It all sucks. I don't care about the hurricane at all. I'm not worried about wind damage or flooding. But I HATE HATE HATE losing power.

[Anonymous]

We lost power for a few hours last weekend from a normal thunderstorm. I can only imagine how bad it will be with a genuine natural disaster.

[Anonymous]

We are in MoCo, and have no power *now*. I hate Pepco so much.

[Anonymous]

What exactly do you expect of the power company during a natural disaster? They are already working around the clock when these things happen to restore power as quickly as possible. They're not just sitting around doing nothing.

BS! Pepco is the worst rated utilities company in the US. The US!

MD legislature was crazy enough to provide this terrible company with an incentive not to address power failure. Other power companies see a big hit to their profits when service is unavailable through financial penalties and lost revenue as customers are not charged for power not used. In MD, Pepco has rate protection. If their revenue drops from low usage for whatever reason (including Pepco not providing power during outages) then they are allowed to raise their rates across the board. It is more fiscally advantgeous for Pepco to spend as little as possible restoring power.

This company needs to be shut down.

[Anonymous]

I got the call and live in DC (capitol hill). We have never lost power because our power lines are underground. We aren't expecting a problem, but we're prepared in case.