Protesters smeared cake on the logo at Pepco's headquarters and then climbed atop the building's first-floor awning Tuesday in advance of the energy company's shareholder meeting scheduled for Friday.
The "OurDC 99% Spring" supporters said they wanted to deliver demands for the meeting. The group says its goal is to push for corporate reform to create jobs.
The group said it smeared cake on the sign and windows of the headquarters because "Pepco can't have its cake and eat it too" -- a response to the company's proposed rate hike.
News4's Erika Gonzalez reported that about 100 protesters stormed the building, put up tents outside of it and chanted, "Money, money, money! Pepco is greedy!" and "CEO has got to go!" during the protest. Two other protesters with bullhorns climbed a ladder and stood on top of the building's awning.
The protesters began clearing out of the area at about 12:30 p.m., but said they would return on Friday for the meeting with a bigger crowd.
No arrests were made during the protest.
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Pepco issued the following statement to News4:
"Pepco is investing more than $900 million over five years in reliability enhancements to make sure we can meet our customers’ expectations. The improvements are starting to produce tangible results for our customers in electric system reliability, restoration and customer service. For example, from December 2010 through December 2011, customers served by upgraded power lines saw a 39 percent reduction in the average number of power outages and when outages did occur, they did not last as long, with the average outage duration declining by 56 percent."
Stay with News4 and NBCWashington.com for more information and follow @erika_news on Twitter for the latest.
