BGE is Ready for Severe Weather and Summer Heat. Are you?

Here’s how you can prepare for thunderstorms, hurricanes, and other severe weather that could cause electric service outages

 

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Smart Energy Customer Care Innovation Agenda

Summer is almost here, and while the current COVID-19 pandemic has changed our daily lives, BGE is hard at work completing maintenance and inspections, as well as upgrades and critical repairs to prepare for severe weather, which could include an active hurricane season. This work is essential to providing safe and reliable energy service for our more than 1.3 million electric and 680,000 natural gas customers throughout the summer months.

Our work to prepare for the summer is part of BGE’s ongoing efforts to modernize the local energy grid and reliability  for our customers. The work BGE has been doing has resulted in fewer interruptions–and faster restoration times when outages do occur.

This work includes installing automated equipment designed to allow momentary outages which help prevent longer, sustained interruptions to your service.

We also encourage our customers to be ready for potentially severe summer weather.

  • Assemble an emergency storm kit. Include battery-powered radio, flashlight, a first-aid kit, battery-powered or windup clock, extra batteries, medications, multi-purpose tool, cell phones with chargers, and list of important/emergency phone numbers.
  • Have a supply of bottled water and easy-to-prepare, non-perishable foods available.
  • Keep a flashlight with fresh batteries on each floor of your home.
  • Identify an alternate location for you and/or your family in case of an extended outage.

With many people working from home this summer, additional usage and higher temperatures can lead to higher energy bills, and BGE provides a variety of programs to help customers save energy and money.

In addition, customers can save energy and lower their bills this summer by following a few simple tips:

  • Turn it off: Turn off all unnecessary lighting and devices.
  • Check your thermostat: Keep thermostats at a constant, comfortable level when at home. Raise the thermostat setting for days of extreme heat to save even more. Install a programmable thermostat to automatically adjust your home’s temperature settings when you’re away or sleeping.
  • Keep it closed: Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows. Simply closing blinds and curtains, which act as a layer of insulation, can reduce heat in your home.
  • Use your ceiling fan: For those without air conditioning, use ceiling fans or portable fans with the windows partially open to circulate fresh air into your home. For those with air conditioning, fans can be used to evenly distribute cool air.
  • Use appliances wisely: Run appliances that produce heat (like clothes dryer and dishwashers) in the evening when temperatures are cooler.