Category: Uncategorized

NEWS: ANC 2B to Host City and PEPCO on January 14 to Discuss Recent Power Outage

At its regular monthly meeting on January 14th at 7:00 pm at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Ave NW) the Dupont Circle ANC will host Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, and representatives from the Mayor’s Office and PEPCO to discuss the response to the recent neighborhood-wide power outages.

On January 6th an underground cable fault occurred shortly before 7 a.m. near 18th and Corcoran streets, NW.  That affected three underground feeders and led to power outages for approximately 6,100 customers. At first, customers were told power would be restored before noon. That assessment was incorrect, but residents made plans without proper information, and some were stranded in unheated homes in sub-freezing temperatures. By nightfall, a warming center had been set up in Petworth, but it was more than 2 miles away, and many residents did not learn about it until after dark. Many did not feel safe leaving their homes to walk icy sidewalks with no street lights.
 
Above all, our neighbors did not receive enough timely and accurate information to make proper decisions about their own health and safety. While the ANC fully understands that infrastructure breaks down and that it can be difficult to diagnosis and fix the problem, our concern here is about how we respond to such emergencies. What went wrong here, what can we learn from that, and what steps can we take now to improve our communications systems so that future emergencies are better managed?

At the same meeting, four new Commissioners and five returning Commissioners will be sworn in by Mr. Evans and the ANC will discuss a range of regulatory applications as well as their 2015 goals. The full agenda, which will be updated on Sunday, is available HERE.

January 7th Update on Power Outage from PEPCO

We received the following outage overview and update from PEPCO:

“On Jan. 6, 2015, an underground cable fault occurred shortly before 7 a.m. in the area of 18th and Corcoran streets, NW. The fault caused three underground feeders to trip and led to power outages for approximately 6,100 customers. The cause remains under investigation.

Pepco restored electrical service to approximately 6000 customers by about 11 p.m. Tuesday. Field work on the underground outage has required a longer period of work than anticipated due to inclement weather, traffic and the severity of the damage. Pepco crews will continue making repairs and will remain on site until all of the work is completed.

The current ETR is set at 10 p.m. tonight. Estimated Time of Restoration is initially based on the identified problem and the time it normally takes to make the repairs. As we proceeded with the original repairs, we found the damage more extensive than originally anticipated which required extending the ETR. Until the first repair was completed, we could not detect the additional repairs necessary to complete the restoration. ETRs, that Pepco fully expected to meet, have been extended due to unforeseen issues crews had no way of discovering until they made other necessary repairs.

Today, during our emergency repair effort, engineers discovered additional issues involving secondary power cables underground. This will require crews to remove and replace cable before service can be completely restored to remaining customers experiencing outages. Three secondary main lines are being replaced plus additional underground equipment. The technical nature of this repair work severely limits the ability to immediately see certain underground issues. Pepco has been calling affected customers all day to communicate our continued emergency work and the estimated time of restoration.

We estimate more than 450 customers are experiencing an extended outage while our emergency work continues to repair secondary lines. Customers between R Street and S Street, in the area extending between 18th Street NW to Connecticut Avenue are included in the extended outage. It is important for customers who do not have power to continue reporting any outage to Pepco by phone at 1-877-737-2662 or through our mobile app available for download at Pepco.com.

The District has established a warming center for customers at the Raymond Recreation Center, 3725 10th Street NW. We understand our customers’ frustration and we will continue to work around the clock to get every last customer restored.”

UPDATED: Plans Available for St. Thomas Church Development (12-1-2014)

****UPDATED ON DECEMBER 9, 2014****

The ANC received notice today that the Historic Preservation Office has removed 1772 Church Street NW from the Historic Preservation Review Board agenda for December. As such, the Dupont Circle ANC will not vote on the project at its December 10th meeting.

The developers and Church will maintain their spot on the agenda and will present the most up to date plans (available below) and receive questions and comments from Commissioners and the public. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion and we hope that the extra time will allow neighbors adequate opportunity to provide constructive feedback to the ANC and the architects. There may be altered plans available for review, which will be posted on this website.

The ANC will announce new dates and times for additional public review of this proposal in the future.

 

At the ANC’s Zoning, Preservation and Development Committee on December 1st, architects for St. Thomas Church at 1772 Church Street NW supplied the committee modified plans as they will be presented to the ANC on December 10th and the Historic Preservation Review Board later this month.

The most recent set of plans is available for download HERE.

The ANC encourages community members to submit constructive feedback to commissioners@dupontcircleanc.net. The ANC is particularly interested in comments on height, massing and concept of the proposed plans with the understanding that the design will be finalized over time and in conjunction with the neighbors and the ANC. The ANC would also appreciate feedback on whether neighbors think recent changes have met the requests of the ANC’s previous recommendations on the project, available here.