Utilities

“I asked about contending the bill based on the unlikelihood of 2 people tearing through a month’s worth of water in 4 days”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Caroline Angelo

“Dear PoPville,

In paying the bills for my small condo building this month I noticed our water bill was $160 more than our usual bill. When I called DC Water initially on Friday, the representative noted extreme usage over the course of 4 days in August and directed me to the meter reading portion of their site and suggested I set up an alert system in the event of future aberrations. To outline the difference in usage a little clearer, over the course of said 4 days the building had apparently used the same amount of water we usually consume in a full month.

I flagged the issue for the other owners in the building and asked if anyone noticed anything funny happening, I was out of town for the exact dates but my roommate did not note anything out of the ordinary. I heard back from the other owners and it turns out the tenants in two of the units were out of town (one set was gone for almost all of August) and the third owner was personally out of town but his girlfriend was home and didn’t notice anything weird either. (more…)

“Seems the scammers are out trying to get in their scams in before the hurricane.”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Seems the scammers are out trying to get in their scams in before the hurricane. We got a knock at the door last night from three people posing as PEPCO workers asking to see our bill to see if we are “running at green efficiency,” which may be the new “there seems to be excessive charges in your neighborhood” method of scamming information. (more…)

“Electromagnetic Radiation Fears Cause Shaw ANC to Delay Voting on New Pepco Substation”

By Prince Of Petworth

The following was written by PoPville contributor David McAuley, founder of Short Articles about Long Meetings.


Photo by David McAuley

At its regularly-scheduled meeting September 4, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw voted to table a decision on a proposed new electricity substation at K and First Streets NW, in Mount Vernon Square. The vote took place after PEPCO representatives and local residents argued over whether electromagnetic radiation from the plant will pose a danger to the community.

The ANC is involved because PEPCO must get zoning relief in order to construct the substation. The footprint, height, and setback of the building are within what PEPCO may build without seeking zoning relief, but the current plans do not include as many spaces for cars and bicycles as required, nor do the plans meet the requirements for a trash room. However, since the building will be mostly “unmanned”, it was argued, normal building requirements are not relevant in these categories.

A team from PEPCO, led by Vice President for Government and External Affairs Mark Battle, presented first.

“A substation is not a power plant,” Battle said.

Battle also said there will soon not be enough capacity from existing substations, given development in the Mount Vernon Square area. (more…)

“I can’t help but wonder if it’s time someone looks into what’s going on–perhaps even Pepco?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

For the second time in a week we have widespread power outage issues in the triangle east of 2nd St NE, South of Florida Ave and north of the H Street. On the Pepco outage map it looks like approximately 1,300 customers are without power. Last week’s outage(s) map looked like a “Whac-A-Mole” game, one outage would get fixed and multiple smaller ones would pop up. (more…)

“DC Water Releases Comprehensive Report on Pressure Drop and Boil Water Advisory”

By Prince Of Petworth


Initial advisory map released July 13

From DC Water:

“DC Water today released a comprehensive report on the issues surrounding the loss of water pressure at the Bryant Street Pumping Station and the circumstances that led to the warning for some customers to boil their water during a 48 hour span.

The report, released by DC Water CEO and General Manager David L. Gadis, makes a set of recommendations for improvements to both the operation of the pumping station and the ways in which the water utility communicates with customers. The report was delivered to DC Water board members this morning. (more…)

“DC Water is warning customers that scammers claiming to represent the utility may be calling and asking for personal information or requesting to send a technician to the home.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user rockcreek

From DC Water:

“DC Water is warning customers that scammers claiming to represent the utility may be calling and asking for personal information or requesting to send a technician to the home. DC Water has received several reports from customers who stated they received such a call and one customer received an at-home visit from someone claiming he was from the water/electric utility and was checking for high water use. DC Water did not make the calls nor send a technician. Further, we are not associated with an electric provider.

Another more recent scam followed the boil water advisory of July 13-15. In this scam, individuals are attempting to sell water filters and solicit social security numbers. Please be vigilant of solicitors to your home and do not give out your personal information to anyone.

Customers should be aware of the following information: (more…)

“WHY does Comcast have a monopoly in parts of D.C.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr.TinDC

“Dear PoPville,

WHY does Comcast have a monopoly in parts of D.C. and what do we need to do to get more options? I recently moved from NE where we could pick from Comcast or Verizon Fios to NW where the ONLY option is Comcast. They are miserable. RCN isn’t even available. Any idea on how to figure out how long the territory agreement with Comcast and DC is for and who exactly benefits from this monopoly?”

PoP’s Lessons Learned on the Great Boil Water Scare of 2018.

By Prince Of Petworth


-Dan Silverman: Citizen of the District of Columbia

1. Obviously the way in which DC Water communicates with customers must be improved.

2. Obviously the way in which DC Water communicates with customers must be improved. Maybe this is a start, you can sign up dc water alerts here.

3. Boiling water sucks.


Photo by Emily

4. Most of us are wholly unprepared for a major emergency. God forbid if the shit ever really does go down – most of us are screwed. We should be prepared to shelter in place for at least 3 days. Go here for more info. Seriously.

5. Some of you weirdos drink shower water for some reason. (more…)

Updated Interactive Boil Advisory Map

By Prince Of Petworth


See interactive map here

From DC Water:

“Boil Water Advisory Lifted for Most Customers – Continues for Portions of NE Updated 1:00 P.M. July 14, 2018

DC Water has determined boundaries for a smaller affected area under the boil water advisory. No contamination was detected outside of this area. Customers can view the map above or call the 24-Hour Command Center at (202) 612-3400 to verity if they reside in the affected area. Customers located in the affected area should continue boiling water for drinking and cooking until further notice. Customers that are not located in this area are not affected and can use tap water normally. Customers residing in the previous impact area that are no longer under the boil water advisory should run cold water taps for 10 minutes before returning to normal water usage. Running the cold water tap will replace water sitting in pipes during the advisory with clean water from the water main.

The smaller impact area includes portions of neighborhoods east of North Capitol Street, including University Heights, Michigan Park, N. Michigan Park, Queens Chapel and Brookland.

Customers affected by the boil water advisory should follow these precautions: (more…)

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