MoCo Council Considers Alternative To Pepco

On the same day Pepco ran a full-page newspaper ad to apologize for recent power outages, the utility company faced criticism for its performance in Montgomery County during a county council meeting.

Some council members even considered whether it's time for an alternative to Pepco.

The five Pepco executives spent about two hours Monday updating council members on improvements to the system and explaining why power restoration drags on long after storms have ended.

"We understand the frustration that customers feel, and the inconvenience and the hardship it causes. That's what motivates us, that's what drives us to improve reliability," said Dave Velazquez, Pepco's vice president for power delivery.

Council Member Roger Berliner isn't satisfied, and thinks it might be time to consider an alternative.

"Pepco is an investor-owned utility with shareholders and responsibilities to pay dividends. Many parts of the county have public power in which the people own it and there are no shareholders. The commitment is simply to serve a local community," Berliner said. "So my colleagues have raised the question: Are we stuck with Pepco or is there an alternative?"

Later, council members also met with representatives of the America Public Power Association.