Utilities

“Lead Pipe Replacement Program?”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Tim Brown

“Dear PoPville,

As an FYI, I’ve been repeatedly contacting DC Water and DOEEE about what the timeline for lead replacement of the main (and private) water lines are like in DC.

I’ve been contacted by contractors asking us to pay them >$15K to replace our private lead lines that come up to the house from the street. After some digging, I found that all public lead water lines are promised to be replaced by 2030 (and potentially many private lines), but the funding falls far short of getting it done anytime close to then. (more…)

Power Outage “affecting the Cardozo, Columbia Heights, Lanier Heights, and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods.”

By Prince Of Petworth

Update: “PEPCO reports all power is now restored in the Northwest area of 16th & Columbia Road.”

From AlertDC: “PEPCO reports a power outage in the vicinity of 16th Street and Columbia Road, NW, affecting the Cardozo, Columbia Heights, Lanier Heights, and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods. The estimated restoration time is 3PM. Affected customers can contact PEPCO on 1-877-737-2662.” (more…)

“Pepco Problems”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Our Adams Morgan condo has been without power since Saturday afternoon–we have lights and a few outlets, but one of the two incoming lines is dead and as a result, we are without heat and hot water.

We had an electrician on-site on Saturday–he told us to call Pepco. Pepco came out, took some readings, and told us to get our building electrician involved. That electrician came out yesterday and said they couldn’t do anything until Pepco removed the locks on our meter and the three meters connected to ours (it’s a medium-sized, self-managed condo building). (more…)

“Unusually high PEPCO bills?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I have a PEPCO related question. I live in a small, four unit condo building with identical 1.5 bedroom (roughly 700 sq ft) condos. I got a PEPCO bill this month that was more than double my previous bill ($114). I have friends living in 2,000 sq ft that are paying less. (more…)

Wait, What?

By Prince Of Petworth

Cheryl asks DC Water: “is the dirt in my home’s water connected to road work in 1400 Block of Florida NW?” (more…)

“$719 Pepco Bill?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I received a “revised” bill from Pepco yesterday for $719. The bill does not seem to be a scam because I can find the statement on my Pepco account when I log-in; it looks like they are adding additional charges to my monthly electric bills going back to October 2020. (more…)

“Old DC Water Pipes – What are we really drinking?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

This is a bit long, but I’m reaching out to you about the water pipes in DC in hopes that a fellow Washingtonian might have successfully resolved a similar issue and could offer some guidance! As we hear from the water reports, DC Water has high standards for tap water, drinking straight out of the sink faucet is encouraged. DC Water provides annual water quality results, but data collection sample location is not clear. We stopped drinking the water because of the elevated iron levels. To “mitigate” the situation, DC Water flushes the main hydrant by our house multiple times a week to improve the iron (and chlorine levels), it doesn’t appear any solution such as replacement of corroded pipes (the culprit) will come in our lifetime. We don’t drink or cook with tap water and spend $300+ monthly on water delivery on top of the water consumption for laundry, showers etc. Below is the (long-ish) backstory, I hope to receive some much needed guidance! (more…)

“Warning about scam(?) in my neighborhood”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Here’s what happened: there is a young, white woman, probably in her late 20s or early 30s going door to door in Park View (at least as far as I know) to ask people to see their gas and electricity bills, claiming that someone in our block had gone over the usage limit or something like that. (more…)

Washington Gas Woes Cont. “Total hold time was 5 hours.”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I’ve been on hold with Washington Gas for over two hours, and this is not the first time this month. I’ve sat on hours-long holds a few times and in previous call attempts I’ve had to hang up to go to work or class before anyone picks up. I’ve also emailed their customer service email address and have not gotten a response. Adding insult to injury, the hold robot started saying “your expected wait time is less than 5 minutes” at least an hour ago. (more…)

Hold The Phone, “in 2021 just six payphones are active in the entire city”

By Prince Of Petworth


1432 H Street, NW via Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia

Thanks to G. for passing on Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia’s post yesterday:

“As part of our regulatory duties, we certify every payphone in the District. That used to be quite the task, but now in 2021 just six payphones are active in the entire city. (more…)

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