BGE Ready for Summer Heat and Storms

Customers can also prepare for extreme weather and take advantage of
Energy Savings Days to help further reduce energy costs that remain
lower than a decade ago

BALTIMORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As the Atlantic hurricane season gets underway June 1, BGE is prepared
to respond to weather-related emergencies and urges customers to take
proactive steps to protect their families and properties. While BGE
customers are experiencing fewer and less frequent power outages than
ever before due to major investments being made in the electric delivery
system, customers should always have a plan in place should outages
occur, especially during hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30.

Also beginning June 1, new standard offer service electric rates go into
effect and residential customers who purchase their electricity from BGE
will see a bill reduction of nearly $8 a month over the previous year.
This is the result primarily of lower supply prices which have been on a
downward trend for several years. Customers who purchase their
electricity from BGE are paying less today for the energy supply portion
of their bill than they did in 2007. Customers are also using less
energy today, thanks to energy efficiency programs and smart grid
upgrades.

“At a time when energy supply prices are lower, BGE continues to make
significant investments in our system to provide safe and reliable
service to our customers not only in advance of the summer storm and
heat season, but all year long,” said Stephen J. Woerner, BGE president
and COO. “While we invest in our system and routinely drill on our plans
to ensure they are prepared to meet the demands of extreme summer
weather, we ask our customers to also prepare for the possibility of
severe weather.”

The company has invested more than $8 million in specific electric
distribution system upgrades and new technologies to get ready for the
2017 summer. These investments include more durable poles and wiring,
expanded options for rerouting service to minimize the number of
customers affected by an outage, and automated equipment that responds
to system damage allowing field personnel to be deployed to other areas
where on-site work is required.

This work is part of the approximately $700 million invested each year
in the company’s systems, part of more than $7 billion invested in gas
and electric system upgrades since 2002. These include ongoing
investments in natural gas pipes, utility poles, overhead power lines,
underground cable and other equipment. An additional $4 billion will be
invested during the next five years. System upgrades and expansions are
expected to lead to fewer outages and faster restoration when outages
occur.

BGE completes hundreds of tasks to prepare for the summer season, and as
part of the Exelon family of companies, BGE now can draw on resources
from sister utilities Delmarva Power in Delaware, PECO in Pennsylvania,
Atlantic City Electric in New Jersey, Pepco in Washington, D.C., and
ComEd in Illinois to restore power more quickly after major storms.

As BGE prepares, customers should prepare too:

Before severe weather hits, customers should:

• Have a supply of bottled water and easy-to-prepare, non-perishable
  foods available.
• Charge cell phones and mobile devices.
• Have a flashlight with fresh batteries on each floor of your home.
• Customers requiring refrigeration for medication or electricity for
  medical equipment should have alternate arrangements in place in the
  event of an extended power outage.
• Customers with landlines should keep a corded phone handy to report
  outages if their cell phone loses power.
• Visit bge.com/alerts
  to choose how to receive information, via text, email or phone,
  including when power is out in their area, when service is expected to
  be restored, or when power is restored.
• Text “ADDOUTAGE” to MYBGE (69243), to enroll in our two-way texting
  program to report outages and check the status of their outage.

If severe storms hit, visit BGE’s enhanced outage map at bge.com/outagemap
for information on general locations of outages in BGE’s service
territory. Customers also can report or view the status of an electric
outage through a mobile device at bge.com.

Higher temperatures can lead to higher energy bills, and BGE provides a
variety of programs to help customers save energy and money. For
example, BGE’s Smart Energy Savers Program®, the company’s full suite of
energy efficiency programs, helps residential, business, government and
non-profit customers save energy and money. For more ways to save
energy, visit www.bgesmartenergy.com.

In addition, customers can save energy and lower their bills this summer
by following a few simple tips:

• Turn it off: Turn off all unnecessary lighting and devices.
• Manage your thermostat: Keep thermostats at a constant,
  comfortable level when at home. Raise the thermostat setting for days
  of extreme heat to save even more. Install a programmable thermostat
  to automatically adjust your home’s temperature settings when you’re
  away or sleeping.
• Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed: About 40 percent of
  unwanted heat comes through windows. Simply closing blinds and
  curtains, which act as a layer of insulation, can reduce heat in your
  home.
• Use ceiling fans to circulate air: For those without air
  conditioning, use ceiling fans or portable fans with the windows
  partially open to circulate fresh air into your home. For those with
  air conditioning, fans can be used to evenly distribute cool air.
• Use appliances wisely: Run appliances that produce heat (like
  clothes dryers, ovens and dishwashers) at night when it is cooler.
• Take advantage of Energy Savings Days. BGE schedules Energy
  Savings Days when the demand for electricity is expected to be
  particularly high. This typically occurs on very hot summer weekdays
  when both homes and businesses are using higher amounts of
  electricity, especially with air conditioning. You will be notified
  (via phone, email or text), usually the day before a BGE Energy
  Savings Day. Simply use less electricity between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on
  an Energy Savings Day. You will then be notified by phone, email or
  text of how much money you saved.

BGE,
founded in 1816 as the nation’s first gas utility, is Maryland’s largest
natural gas and electric utility. Headquartered in Baltimore, BGE
delivers power to more than 1.25 million electric customers and more
than 650,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. The company’s
approximately 3,200 employees are committed to the safe and reliable
delivery of natural gas and electricity, as well as enhanced energy
management, conservation, environmental stewardship and community
assistance. The company also has an estimated annual economic impact of
$5 billion of output in its service area, supporting more than 9,500
local jobs and producing $923 million in labor income. BGE is a
subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading
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Contacts

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE)
Justin Mulcahy, [email protected]
BGE
Media Hotline: 410-470-7433