FIRST ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION TO STRENGTHEN RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY OF MARYLAND’S ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM TO BE HELD

Additional meetings and web site also announced

ANNAPOLIS, MD ­­— On August 21, 2012, the Office of the Governor will convene the first of nine roundtable discussions focused on improving and strengthening the reliability and resiliency of Maryland’s electric distribution system. Each discussion will focus on a specific topic and include presentations and dialogue with invited community leaders, policy experts, academics, and the electric industry. The meeting will be held on August 21, 2012 from 1:30 to 4:30pm at the East Conference Room in the Miller Senate Building in Annapolis.

Because of the importance of informing the public debate about reliability, the first meeting will include an overview of Maryland’s electric distribution system, an explanation of the current regulatory structure regarding reliability, and a conversation about customer expectations regarding reliability. The speakers for the first session include Rajnish Barua, Ph.D., Executive Director, Natural Regulatory Research Institute; Leslie Romine, Staff Counsel, Maryland Public Service Commission; Roger Berliner, Montgomery County Council President; and John Jimision, Energy Future Coalition. Additional speakers may be added.

Citing the economic and health damage resulting from repeated and prolonged electricity outages, Governor O’Malley issued an Executive Order on July 25, 2012 directing his Energy Advisor, along with various state agencies, to develop recommendations in the following areas:

1) The effectiveness and feasibility of undergrounding supply and distribution lines in selected areas;

2) Options for other infrastructure improvements in the electric distribution infrastructure that can or should be made in order to improve the resiliency of Maryland’s system; and

3) Options for financing and cost recovery for capital investments in the electric distribution system.

Additional meetings will take place over the next several weeks, with final recommendations due to Governor O’Malley on September 24th. The Office of the Governor has created a web site allowing for public comment on reliability proposals. All ideas are welcome. The web site also includes key studies and reports on Maryland’s electric distribution system, as well as the draft schedule for the remaining discussions available at http://www.discussion.maryland.gov/.