Power Outages

So we're not facing The End of Civilization as We Know it. Y2K is likely to ring itself in without a massive disaster. Airplanes will not fall from the sky. Elvis will not reappear.But Y2K could still be a pain in the neck. Despite the hundreds of billions we've spent collectively on the problem, when the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31, there will still be computers that see the new year abbreviated as "00" and think it's 1900. Or worse, they won't know what to think at all, and they'll just quit.

The thunderstorm that put the smackdown on crab town Tuesday uprooted trees and tossed them all around my North Baltimore neighborhood, downing wires that kept Wyman Park without power for nearly 24 hours. Some people - the fancy folks with battery-powered fans - like to think of the experience of having no electricity as a quaint return to simpler times. Little rowhouse on the prairie. Forget that. I've been through it enough times (at least once a year since moving to the city nearly five years ago)

Maryland PSC sets Bel Air meeting The Maryland Public Service Commission will conduct a hearing at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Bel Air. The hearing is part of the commission's effort to gather testimony for its investigation of wholesale power prices, as well as BGE's proposal to phase in a roughly 50 percent rate increase this summer. The hearing, which will be held in County Council chambers, 212 S. Bond St. in Bel Air, is one of a series that the commission has been conducting throughout the region.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. will make upgrades to Westminster's power system, company officials told area residents yesterday, although they said the improvements are more of a nod to dissatisfied customers than the result of serious problems.BGE officials spoke to about 20 people at Carroll County Public Library in a meeting sponsored by Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett to discuss three recent power outages in the downtown area.About 1,200 BGE customers were left without power for two hours last Tuesday morning after a fencing contractor hit a wire while digging near a substation.

Reacting to the the power outages caused by Hurricane Floyd, a union representing utility workers joined the Office of the Maryland People's Counsel yesterday in urging uniform reliability standards for the state's power companies.Yesterday concluded two days of hearings before the state Public Service Commission on the utilities' emergency preparedness in light of the lengthy power outages from the hurricane. The commissioners are to report their findings and recommendations to Gov. Parris N. Glendening on Dec. 1.The governor ordered an investigation of the utilities because of the widespread utility outages from Floyd.

A quarter-million Maryland homes remained without power in the wake of Hurricane Floyd yesterday, with residents jamming phone lines for help and scurrying for scarce dry ice to preserve refrigerators full of rapidly spoiling food.Adding to the chaos of the storm's aftermath was what utility officials called a freak occurrence: the loss of power to a major Baltimore waste treatment plant, causing a damaged pump to spew millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Jones Falls -- bound for the Inner Harbor.

Hurricane Floyd swept through Carroll County in weakened condition yesterday, dumping about 4.5 inches of rain and disrupting the evening rush hour with fallen trees and wires, but causing only minor flooding and power outages for a few thousand residents.With schools closed, parents and kids jammed the movie theater at Cranberry Mall during the day. Some grocery stores reported "snow scare" shopping raids. Parents of schoolchildren scrambled to make child-care arrangements.Schools could be closed again today because of flooding, officials said.

Most Maryland state parks and forests came through Hurricane Floyd without significant damage, although downed trees and power outages inconvenienced some campers, hunters and hikers late last week."

From the Washington suburbs to the Pennsylvania line, tens of thousands of Marylanders shivered with no electricity yesterday while others struggled to clear downed trees and branches and the governor declared a state of emergency in six counties.Just before midnight last night, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. reported that 75,000 customers were still without power.At its peak, more than 332,000 customers -- 119,000 in the Baltimore area -- lost electric service as tree limbs weighted with melting ice toppled across power lines, forcing BGE to summon out-of-state crews for the first time in almost two decades.

After three days of lamb-like weather, March finally roared yesterday.Skiers and schoolchildren rejoiced as nearly 14 inches of snow blanketed parts of Western Maryland, covering cars, canceling classes and creating power outages for nearly 25,000 customers throughout the region.Driven by wind gusts of up to 60 mph that tore down power lines, the fast-moving, late-winter storm caused temporary closings of parts of three main roads west of Frederick -- Interstates 68 and 81 and Route 495. More than 500 workers in 300 vehicles were summoned to salt and plow roads, said Rose Muhlhausen, State Highway Administration spokeswoman.

A severe and swift straight-line storm with winds in excess of 60 miles per hour and with more than 1,000 reports of lightning, hail and heavy rain struck parts of Baltimore, Harford and Carroll counties about 6 p.m. Sunday, knocking down countless trees and causing power outages and power surges, authorities said. "We have nearly 90 calls for assistance backed up," said a Baltimore County police communications supervisor at the height of the storm. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said there were still 25,000 power outages as of 10:45 p.m., with nearly 20,000 of those reported in Baltimore County.

Salary: $24/hour Age: 44 Years on the job: 2 1/2 How she got started: : Kim Allen grew up traveling with her mother, who served in the Air Force. She said the experience of living in places like Japan, Germany and throughout the United States has helped with her career in customer service. Allen has worked as a call center representative for the past several years. She was laid off from her most recent job at the call center of a local fitness center and applied to various companies, ultimately accepting BGE's offer.

Towson U., its neighbors sign arena agreement Towson University and the Rodgers Forge community signed an agreement yesterday that sets a new location for the college's $45 million athletic center. Construction of the 5,000-seat addition is to begin next year on the northwest side of the Towson Center Arena, a location farther from homes in the community that adjoins the southern end of the campus. The proposal also calls for a buffer of trees along the private property line with the athletics area.

High winds and torrential rains that topped 6 inches in parts of Southern Maryland stranded motorists, toppled trees and cut electric service to tens of thousands of customers yesterday, while a widening sinkhole threatened to swallow a cluster of homes in Prince George's County. Although forecasters expected sunny skies to replace the clouds today, they warned that rain could return before the end of the week. Yesterday's record deluge, which capped five days of rain, closed schools in Charles and Worcester counties.

Maryland Thousand lose power to winds High winds led to power outages for more than 63,000 BGE customers yesterday. The blustery weather started about 2 a.m., when the first customers began to lose power, said Linda Foy, a spokeswoman for BGE. She said there could be more outages today because of high winds. The weather forecast called for gusts up to 50 mph. Between 2 a.m. and 9 p.m. yesterday, 26,615 customers in the greater Baltimore region lost power but had it restored. Another 37,170 were still waiting for their lights to come back on, according to the BGE Web site.

Cold winds whipping around in the wake of a departing storm system yesterday caught Marylanders in a swirl of blowing leaves and trash, power outages and highway wind restrictions. Trees toppled in wind gusts as high as 51 mph in some locations, and the blustery weather was expected to continue into today. Call it a prelude to more wintry weather tomorrow as an "Alberta Clipper" moves in with a dusting of snow here, and several inches in mountainous Western Maryland. But forecasters said things should improve after that.

Power was restored late yesterday afternoon to the remaining Federal Hill businesses and residences that lost electricity after a fire Wednesday in a tavern basement near Cross Street Market. In all, 300 customers had lacked power. Rob Gould, a spokesman for Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., said power was restored shortly before 6 p.m. after BGE crews replaced more than 1,000 feet of conduit cable damaged from the fire at Stalking Horse Tavern in the first block of E. Cross St. Linda Foy, a BGE spokeswoman, said the last customers to have their power restored were about 30 homes and businesses closest to the fire.

Temperatures soared to 105 degrees in downtown Baltimore yesterday, turning up the burner on what was already the worst heat wave of the summer and forcing a brownout on the region's power grid. The high of 102 at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport scorched the previous record of 99 degrees for an Aug. 8, set in 1980. It was the hottest day at the airport in more than eight years. Downtown, heat index readings rose to about 120 degrees. There were no immediate reports of deaths in Maryland linked to this latest siege of hot weather.

The thunderstorm that put the smackdown on crab town Tuesday uprooted trees and tossed them all around my North Baltimore neighborhood, downing wires that kept Wyman Park without power for nearly 24 hours. Some people - the fancy folks with battery-powered fans - like to think of the experience of having no electricity as a quaint return to simpler times. Little rowhouse on the prairie. Forget that. I've been through it enough times (at least once a year since moving to the city nearly five years ago)

The Westminster Senior and Community Center will remain closed today because of power outages, officials said. Underground wiring failed Sunday afternoon, reducing the building's electricity by a third, county officials said. There is no air conditioning and limited lighting at the Stoner Avenue facility. The Bureau of Aging's administrative offices in the same building will be open for business, officials said. Seniors who have transportation are invited to attend any of the other four senior centers in the county.