BGE Update: July 15, 2022
Good morning,
A quick update:
At our FHNA meeting on June 21, BGE presented their pipeline renovation plans for well over an hour. James Wilcox (our neighborhood technical guru) guided the discussion which primarily focused on inside vs outside placement of the regulators. Lots of questions were asked- BG&E answered some but needed to get back to us on many others. At the close of the meeting, a followup meeting with James and BG&E engineering staff was to be arranged. A block by block timeline was also supposed to be forthcoming.
It took 2 weeks to arrange but another meeting was finally scheduled on July 8. Although there were several BG&E folks on the call, none of them were safety engineers, With James again leading the discussion, we asked them to explain a) their reasons for requiring outside placement of the regulators, b) their lack of flexibility with options and c) their understanding of the fragility of our historic homes. The robust discussion lasted for about an hour, However, at the end of the day they are standing firm that while the safety differential between inside and outside placement was minimal, this is BG&E's new standard and there would be no exceptions. Even so, we asked for another call with a BG&E engineer and we asked again for timelines. They agreed to both and they promised to provide a formal Q&A that we could distribute. At this point, we haven't received either. James, please add anything I've missed!
This week unbenounced to us, they started work on Wheeling. The installation work on one house in particular was very obtrusive , not at all in line with the CHAP ATP. Fortunately, a couple of our neighbors on Wheeling sent pictures which I immediately sent to BG&E, Councilman Costello, Bill Ferguson, the CHAP ED and several others. Both Councilman Costello and CHAP contacted BG&E right away to let them know the work was not acceptable and had to be rectified. In the last couple days, my Wheeling Street contacts said the work has improved, although the fragile nature of our homes has resulted in some brick crumbling. We have alerted BG&E to this problem as well.
Bottom line:
At this point it is unlikely that we are going to win the battle. Not to say, we won't keep trying but realistically our chances are very slim. BG&E is a monopoly and they have the power. What we have gained through all this is the ability to insist that the regulator be placed in the least obtrusive manner. Please make sure to take pictures before and after and contact BG&E if you feel the contractor is not proceeding with care. Understand fully what they are going to do before they start. Ask your insurer if there are any steps you should take.
Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions or to share information.If there is any communication from BG&E, I will share. I am also happy to escalate if need be.