BGE ends conservation call after substation repairs

Baltimore Gas and Electric ends its call to conserve electricity after a substation disconnection and repairs restored the grid.

BGE lifts conservation appeal after substation repairs

Baltimore Gas and Electric said its call for customers to conserve electricity has ended after a transmission fault at a substation led to an unplanned disconnection from the grid.

The company reported that the affected transmission sections have been restored and that emergency load relief programs helped reduce stress on the system. PJM Interconnection said there was no resource adequacy issue, just a transmission constraint. About 4,000 customers in Howard County were briefly cut off for 30 minutes to prevent larger damage, and authorities indicate no further outages are expected today. Gov. Wes Moore said officials will continue to monitor the system and coordinate with partners to ensure preparedness.

The incident comes as Maryland faces rising energy costs and growing demand on a grid that must balance reliability with affordability. The episode tests trust in a utility that raised bills earlier this year and highlights how contingency programs can avert bigger problems, but also how quickly public perception can sour when outages occur. As regulators weigh the costs and benefits of reliability, the politics of energy management will stay in the spotlight, with communities demanding clear accountability and predictable service.

Highlights

The grid will stay a daily concern for families and businesses alike.