Bge

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said Monday that it will hand out 9,000 free trees to customers - first come, first served - to help cut down on energy use. BGE said it has earmarked $300,000 for its new Energy-Saving Trees Program, which is receiving technical support from the Arbor Day Foundation and Davey Institute. BGE said the funds are a donation and do not come from customer fees. Customers can request up to two free trees at http://www.arborday.org/BGE . They must call Miss Utility at 811 before planting, to avoid damaging underground utility infrastructure.

Power was knocked out to about 7,000 customers in the Towson area, including Towson Town Center, around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday because of a problem with a piece of electric distribution equipment, according to Baltimore Gas and Electric spokeswoman Rachael Lighty. All but about 1,000 customers had their power restored by noon, she said. The remaining customers' power was restored by 1:30 p.m. It was about noon when the mall posted an item about the outage on its Twitter page. Other sections of Towson were affected by the outage as well.

This letter is in response to the article on page 8 of the Laurel Leader dated March 7 , "Rosapepe disappointed by PSC assessment. "  Mr. Rosapepe and Mr. Frosh may be disappointed about the Public Service Commission's decision to not impose a $100 million fine on Pepco and BGE for their slow response last year in restoring power. However I'm not. Here's why:  If Mr. Frosh and Mr. Rosapepe would have been successful in their bid to compel the Public Service Commissioner to impose these huge fines, who would have ultimately paid for these fines?

With a winter storm watch in effect and the possibility of several inches of snow Tuesday into Wednesday in Central Maryland, officials at Baltimore Gas and Electric have put out a call for up to 500 out-of-state utility workers to be prepared to help in the aftermath of the storm. BGE officials said they are preparing for a storm that "will likely bring heavy, wet snow and wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour across the majority of its Central Maryland service area. " The utility warned customers to prepare for possible outages Wednesday and Thursday.

There were more cold days in this winter than last, so Central Maryland residents should expect to receive higher energy bills, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said Friday. "Although BGE's commodity prices have remained stable … extreme weather generally triggers significant increases in energy usage, which in turn can lead to higher-than-expected bills," said Jeannette M. Mills, vice president and chief customer officer for BGE. "Even when the thermostat is kept at the same temperature, heating units must work harder to maintain the set temperature," Mills said.

Jamie Smith Hopkins ' recent article on BGE's rate hikes prompts three responses ("Public Service Commission approves BGE rate increases," Feb. 23): First, BGE continues to rip off its customers, as has been its practice for the last 20 years. Second, the Public Service Commission should be abolished because it's been nothing but a puppet for the current governor as well as his predecessors. And third, the General Assembly continues to pander to BGE. All this is a pretty sad commentary on our current state of affairs.

As the clock ticked down Sunday, the morning clouds disappeared, as if they were in on the months-long planning that went into the destruction of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s final natural-gas holding silo. Then, as if someone were turning on Christmas lights, the rings of the cylinder blinked with 420 explosive charges. It took a moment for the noise - like thunder after lightning pierces the sky - for the rat-ta-tat-tat to reach the observers on the roof of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute across the Jones Falls Expressway.

An old BGE gas storage tank overlooking the Jones Falls Expressway and Cold Spring Lane is set to be imploded Sunday morning, officials say. The Melvale Gas Holder, built in 1933, is scheduled for demolition around 7 a.m. Sunday, the company said. BGE stopped using the steel structure in 1997, saying its technology is obsolete. The holder is 258 feet tall and sits on a 26-acre site. The Jones Falls Expressway and Cold Spring Lane near the site are scheduled to be closed for the implosion.

For about eight decades, the 258-foot Melvale Gas Holder has towered above northern Baltimore. In seven seconds Sunday morning, the storage tank will be brought to the ground. BGE plans to implode the steel structure, which hasn't been used since 1997. Preparations for the implosion have taken months, and demolition experts have been working at the site near the Jones Falls Expressway and Cold Spring Lane for about four weeks to set up. The implosion will take place as soon after 7 a.m. as possible, BGE officials said.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers will be paying higher rates this year, with the average bills rising by several dollars a month, to cover the cost of upgrading the utility's infrastructure. Maryland's Public Service Commission, which regulates the company, said Friday it approved an increase to distribution rates that will cost the average residential electricity customer an additional $3.33 a month and the average residential gas customer an extra $2.70 a month. The utility had sought larger rate increases.