Where Pepco needs updating

By R.H. Doggett
Bethesda

Regarding the Aug. 21 Metro article “Md. officials skeptical as Pepco outlines plan on power outages”:

I have been a Pepco customer for 38 years. For the past 32 years, I have lived a short distance from MacArthur Boulevard. Pepco’s lines are underground in my immediate neighborhood, but that has not prevented frequent power outages. Going three days without electricity is not uncommon. The reason lies largely in Pepco’s failure to maintain its lines. A drive along MacArthur Boulevard from the District line to Falls Road will quickly reveal why we lose power so often. Not all the aboveground lines along MacArthur are Pepco’s, but many are. All of them are overgrown with tree limbs, wild grapevines and other vegetation.

The lines have looked like this the entire time I have lived in this area. Most are on a public right-of-way. Obviously, they are not inspected or maintained regularly. If Pepco does not inspect and maintain what it has now, I can’t believe that it will do any better at maintaining updated equipment. It seems to me that management of Pepco is what needs to be updated.