BGE power outages make July’s hot weather even more miserable in southeast Baltimore
“It is not unusual for us to wear headlamps similar to those used by coal miners,” says a resident who meticulously recorded a dozen power outrages over 10 days [OP-ED]
Above: The writer in his pitch-black kitchen at 9:02 p.m. on July 12. (Mark J. Adams)
During the first two weeks of July, while Baltimore Gas & Electric was busy seeking a $156 million rate hike, this writer and his house were reeling from 12 separate power failures that interrupted service for 14 hours, 52 minutes total.
The power outages on the odd-numbered side of the 200 block of South Chester Street in Upper Fell’s Point began at 9:16 p.m. on Thursday, July 2, and continued on and off for the next 10 days.
The first outage took only one minute. When power was restored, electric clocks were dutifully reset.
The respite was short lived.
At 10:47 p.m., the lights went out for exactly 16 minutes, as measured by the burglar alarm system. At 11:17 p.m., power went out for an hour and 31 minutes.
It was restored for 12 minutes, only to be interrupted again at exactly 1 a.m. That outage lasted 4 hours and 34 minutes.
The lights came back on in time for breakfast. But at 10:02 a.m., power went out again for an hour and 18 minutes. Next day, while America was celebrating July 4th, the power on Chester Street went off for an hour and 10 minutes starting at 4:20 p.m. During that interruption, our indoor temperature increased from 70 degrees to 84 degrees.
The outages seemed to be spread across Upper Fell’s Point, Butcher’s Hill and Canton neighborhoods.
Collington Avenues goes dark on July 12, while the north side of Pratt Street BELOW remains lit. (Mark J. Adams)
Spoiled Food
Reports on the neighborhood listserv showed outages on Castle, Pratt, Lombard, Bank, and Hudson streets, Eastern Avenue and Patterson Park Avenue.
On the morning of Sunday the 5th, loss of power shut down the Royal Farms on Fleet Street and Kisling’s Tavern, a neighborhood institution known for its wings and generously overstuffed sandwiches. Traffic lights on Fleet Street were dark for a one-mile stretch from Chester to Conkling streets.
Marta, a fine dining restaurant on Collington Avenue, was closed due to power failures from July 3 through July 5. The exhaust hoods, dishwasher, air conditioner and walk-in refrigerator were down. Food was spoiled. Emergency repairs were needed on the exhaust hoods, requiring two service trucks.
Things returned to normal until the following Sunday, July 12 when BGE crews conducted what looked to be a rolling blackout.
Men on bucket trucks, in below-ground conduits and in sidewalk vaults cut power off five times beginning at 2 a.m. and continuing until 11:08 p.m.
A worker on one of the trucks said they were terminating service at transformers, then restoring it, then going to other locations to do the same. Butts & Betty’s, a beloved corner bar, was holding a baby shower for one of its bartenders while the power kept cutting on and off.
BGE worker stares into an underground conduit on Pratt Street, and BELOW Marta returns to light after a series of damaging blackouts. (Mark J. Adams)
A Chronicle of Incompetence
Marta reopened after repairs and restocking, only to have its power interrupted while serving a full house.
The lights stayed on in the dining room, but the kitchen, air conditioning and refrigeration failed once again. The management opened the dining room windows and told diners that their meals were complementary.
Marta was a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for 2026. Diners come there with high expectations, which probably includes having a meal in air-conditioned comfort. The owner estimates to have lost tens of thousands of dollars from the power failures. It may not be over yet; at the time of this writing, the temperature is on its way to reaching 100 degrees.
BGE will undoubtedly blame record high temperatures for the failure of its power grid. But power outages are nothing new to Southeast Baltimore’s waterfront communities.
A search of online records shows 22 separate power failures from July 2013 to January 2025. They occurred in all kinds of weather during the winter, spring, summer and fall.
A prudent household will stock up with battery powered lights. It is not unusual for us to dine with LED tea lights from IKEA and to wear headlamps similar to those used by coal miners.
The 2013 incident was the worst of all. It lasted five days, but only on the even-numbered side of Chester Street. One family with newborn twins had to relocate to a hotel. At that time, BGE dug trenches and claimed to have reworked the grid to prevent future incidents.
Whatever they did wasn’t enough.
On July 17, 2024, this writer and his wife had to decamp to the nearby Admiral Fell Inn with two snorting pug dogs during an 18-hour interruption. That summertime event took the interior temperature into the high 80s. On three separate occasions, BGE notified customers that a “planned outage” was going to take place to do necessary repairs. They didn’t show up.
The common denominator in all the power interruptions is the incompetence of BGE management. The company has enjoyed record profits. It hasn’t been handing out discounts.
There is no excuse for third-world service in Baltimore, the 1817 birthplace of gas street lighting.
• Mark J. Adams has been a resident of Chester Street since 1993.