Commentary & response: Pepco’s dark and stormy problems

Primary tabs

Sun, 2012-07-22 18:57 — Corey Watts

photo courtesy of Allison Shelley/Getty Images

July 17, 2012 - Montgomery County Department of Economic Development - by Steve Silverman

Good afternoon,

Pepco's delay - again - in restoring power to more than 300,000 Montgomery County businesses and residents following last month's storms was both unacceptable and inexcusable. Below is my commentary on the matter, as it appeared July 9 in the Washington Post's Capital Business and, following that, Pepco President Thomas H. Graham's July 16 response:

"Does business have a dog in the continuing fight between residents and government on one side and Pepco on the other when it comes to ensuring electrical energy in a reliable way? You bet it does. Whether you are a Fortune 500 company or the local bagel shop, an automobile dealer or a self-employed consultant, business needs energy..."

(READ FULL COMMENTARY)

"Steven Silverman’s July 8 commentary (“Pepco’s dark and stormy problems”) raises valid concerns. What is not valid is the implication that Pepco is unresponsive to those concerns and failed in its response to the catastrophic storm that tore a 700-mile path between the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, leaving 34 people dead and nearly four million people without power. We have been proactive in our efforts to reduce the potential for outages, their frequency and duration, not just for business customers, but for all customers — and were quick to respond to the June 29 derecho..."

(READ FULL RESPONSE)

Sincerely,