Days after Fourth of July storm, some BGE customers still without power

When the power went out in Diamond Wilkes’ apartment on the evening of the Fourth of July she wasn’t too worried. Her power typically goes out during thunderstorms, and Baltimore Gas and Electric usually restores it promptly.

But on Sunday morning, Wilkes and her 3-year-old son, who has epilepsy, awoke in their Harford County apartment to still no power.

“I thought, ‘My son’s got a lot of medical issues. I can’t sit in the house without power,’” she said.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, about 4,000 BGE customers had been without power since July 4, and another 3,000 had been without power since July 5, following this past weekend’s storms, the company said.

The storms toppled trees and snapped utility poles, breaking crossarms, downing wires and causing widespread damage, BGE said in a statement. The company said crews are “working around the clock” to restore residents’ power.

Wilkes’ son has seizures nearly every day, she said, and the heat can trigger more episodes. With her apartment’s temperature climbing, she booked a hotel room, a cost that strained her already tight budget.

“I’m his full-time caretaker,” Wilkes said. “We’re surviving off of checks from the state.”

Desperate, she called churches in the area for help.

One local church helped cover the cost of her stay at a Red Roof Inn 15 minutes away from her home, Wilkes said.

Wilkes said she’s heard little from BGE since the outage began, though the company’s app estimated her power would return by 11 p.m. Tuesday.

The last update she had was BGE crews working in her neighborhood around 9 a.m. Monday.

“I don’t know when they’ll actually turn it back on,” she said. “I tried to get in contact with my leasing office but no response.”

As of Tuesday, Wilkes said she was “pretty much playing everything by ear,” watching the app for changes and hoping the lights come back on before checkout time.

“Tomorrow I’m supposed to check out at 11. I don’t know what I’m going to do if it’s still off,” she said.

Michael Berkow, who lives in Essex County, said his home’s lack of power has become “pretty all-consuming.”

The days-long outage has forced him to spend $50 on dry ice for food in his fridge and spend a night at a hotel in Middle River, something he can’t afford to do for a second night.

“What I would criticize BGE about is their lack of communication,” Berkow said. “They really don’t tell us what’s happening.”

The only information Berkow said he’s seen on the BGE app is that the power is estimated to return by 11 p.m. on Wednesday.

Berkow said the app isn’t providing him a reason for the outage like other residents in different counties.

“There’s no update. There’s nothing there,” he said.

Helga Mills, who lives in Anne Arundel County, said BGE repeatedly marked her home’s power as “restored” even as her lights stay off, leaving her without internet or even running water.

Mills said her house is one of three on her street still without power and has reported the outage to BGE three times.

“They keep insisting my power is back whenever I call,” Mills said of BGE. “They have no regard for anyone.”

Mills has several health problems, including a heart condition, and worries about how the stress will impact her health.

“For me, it is an emergency,” she said. “This is not a joke for me.”

Mills lost a fridge full of food, so to preserve what she could, she and her fiancé restored an old generator, which costs about $30 to $50 a day in gas. Because her home relies on a well pump, Mills said she also has no running water.

The outage comes on top of what Mills describes as already high electric bills.

“I just really wish they would handle this better,” she said.