Pepco will be prohibited from shutting off electricity to any residential customer either on, or in advance of, a very hot day under emergency legislation to be considered today by the council.
The resolution bans Pepco from disconnecting residential electric service during the day preceding, and the day of, a forecast of “extreme temperature.” The resolution defines extreme as a heat index of at least 95 degrees.
“It’s obviously a short-term protection, that’s for sure,” said Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh, who co-introduced the legislation with Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham. “For those people who find themselves in this circumstance, we think it’s important.”
The heat index, a combination of the relative humidityand air temperature, is an attempt to determine how it actually feels outside. For example, the combination of a 90 degree temperature and 50 percent humidity creates a 95-degree heat index, as does a combination of 85 degree heat and 75 percent humidity. The higher the heat and humidity, the higher the heat index.
Pepco spokesman Bob Hainey criticized the emergency legislation as setting up “one of the most restrictive disconnection policies in the United States,” and he indicated the power company will fight it. The measure eliminates the consequences for not paying the power bill, Hainey said.
“We encourage people, ‘Don’t get in trouble,’” he said. “If you’re having trouble give us a call and we’re going to try to work out that balance.”
The council approved a similar emergency resolution last summer, which prohibited Pepco from disconnecting residential customers when the temperature hit 93 degrees. Pepco shut off 2,400 customers last June, July, August and September even with that rule in place.
The temperature during those four months, as registered at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, reached 90 degrees or higher 40 times, according to National Weather Service statistics.
D.C. law forbids a utility from turning off a customer’s heat in the winter when the temperature dips below freezing. Extreme heat, Cheh claims, is actually more dangerous than extreme cold.
“How much protection does this provide?” Cheh asked. “Not enough. But it’s something.”
