Average power interruptions last year fell to fourth best rate in BGE’s history, length of power interruptions continue to fall

In 2022, in the face of major storms, central Maryland customers of BGE saw their average number of service interruptions reach 0.74 – the fourth-best rate in the utility’s history.

Overall, the company invested nearly $1.4 billion into infrastructure improvements and operations, and maintenance last year. Since 2014, it has invested $15.9 billion into its gas and electric systems, and a big part of that has been the focus on getting the number of outages lowered. That seems to be paying off, as since 2011, electric outages have decreased 40 percent, while the lengths of outages that do sneak through have been reduced by 36 percent.

To put that in practical terms: outage interruptions dropped about 50 minutes in length on average.

“The investments in our systems have improved day-to-day reliability for the residents and businesses in central Maryland and increased the safety of our grid for our employees and customers,” BGE Chief Operating Officer Derrick Dickens said. “Despite the challenges of three major storms in 2022, I’m proud that we delivered reliable and safe electricity to our customers during difficult circumstances. As we continue to face increasing threats from extreme weather and other threats, we are focused on building a resilient system so we can power a cleaner and brighter future.”

BGE’s all-time low rate occur in 2017, with an average of 0.63 interruptions. However, there is potential for the rate to drop still further. The company recently filed a multi-year energy infrastructure plan that will account for the expansion of EVs and other electrification efforts while continuing reliability improvements and investments.