BGE Gets Help Restoring Power After Irene

“We have no power,” said Ellie Maliner.

The Eugene, OR, grandmother flew across the country to house sit and babysit her granddaughter in Four Seasons.

“This 11-year-old who can’t go to school is having major meltdowns because none of the electronics work,” she said.

She has been in the dark since Tropical Storm Irene passed through Sunday morning. Maliner said power outages are scattered around Waugh Chapel Road.

“This block it has it on. This block it has it off. This block the traffic light is working. The next block it might not be. This is real,” Maliner said.

Tuesday 300 electric contract linemen from Alabama came to Crofton to help Marylanders get out of the dark.

“We expect a lot of down lines, poles down; pretty typical hurricane damage," said Chris Holiday with Taylor Electric Service. "Nothing that we haven’t seen.”

His electrical team caravanned 14 hours from Madison, AL, to the Capitol Raceway. From there they were dispatched around the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customer area.

BGE spokesperson Rachel Lighty said more than 1,300 linemen and support staff from out-of-state have come to Maryland since last Wednesday.

“They come from states as far away as Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas and Indiana,” she said.

She said BGE has managed to restore service to more than 70 percent of the customers who were affected.

“We’ve had more than 750,000 outages and we’ve restored power to more than 500,000 within 48 hours of the storm passing,” Lighty said.

She said power should be back on for Anne Arundel County residents by Friday.

“They need lights. Everybody needs lights,” said Glen Burnie’s Jay Ashton. The J & J Tree and Lawn Care landscaper was among the local teams contracted through BGE.

His uncle Omar Ashton said their Severn-based company believes in giving back when others are in need.

“The more I can get out there and be a blessing to someone, the more that I can get out and help the better I’ll feel,” said Omar Ashton.

“The good Lord says, ‘Help your neighbor, help your brother and it will come back to you tenfold.’ So that’s the reason we’re here and everybody needs to pitch in,” said Chris Holiday, one of the Alabama contractors.