Completion of local recovery enables BGE natural gas mechanics team to assist New Jersey Natural Gas
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BALTIMORE – Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) today announced that it has deployed a team of natural gas mechanics and technicians to assist New Jersey Natural Gas with restoring gas to customers left without service and heat in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The team of 12 BGE employees and vehicles left Baltimore early Monday morning and is expected to be in New Jersey for a week or longer as they assist New Jersey Natural Gas with recovery efforts. BGE has also deployed 64 overhead linemen and support personnel along with 36 vehicles to assist its sister utility, PECO, with power restoration efforts near Philadelphia.
“We continue to be extremely appreciative of the assistance BGE received from other utilities in our response to Hurricane Sandy, and we are now in a position to provide support to those still in need,” said Stephen J. Woerner, senior vice president and chief operating officer for BGE. “Low temperatures make restoring service critical for customers who heat with natural gas and we are committed to providing the skilled personnel and equipment necessary to help make New Jersey’s natural gas systems operational again.”
Hurricanes can damage gas systems as well as electric systems. Tidal surges and flooding can impact buildings and customer equipment and can also flood gas mains and services. The process to restore customers can be very labor-intensive and requires crews to work at each customer location in order restore service.
BGE is an active participant in a mutual assistance network of utilities and stands ready to assist when its service is requested, so long as it does not negatively affect service restoration to its central Maryland customers. All costs associated with responding to mutual assistance requests are the responsibility of the requesting utility.
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BGE, headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland’s largest gas and electric utility, delivering power to more than 1.2 million electric customers and more than 650,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. The company’s approximately 3,400 employees are committed to the safe and reliable delivery of gas and electricity, as well as enhanced energy management, conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider with approximately $33 billion in annual revenues.