PEPCO has reached a new low. PEPCO is the Grinch that Stole Thanksgiving!! PEPCO turned off all power to my street from 4:00 to 7:20 P.M. Everyone's Thanksgiving dinner was ruined, thanks to PEPCO. Don't give me any of that baloney about the wind; there was not a single limb or tree down on the line. In fact, much as during PEPCO's infamous January 1999 eight day blackout(!!!), power was momentarily restored for about two minutes before going out again. I am tired of these fake power outages. Is this Cuba or the United States? Last time I checked it was the U.S., so turn the power back on, comrades!!

With the outrageous rate increases, endorsed by Bill Bronrott, Marilyn Goldwater, and Susan Lee, customers expect an improvement in service. A Thanksgiving blackout is a new low for PEPCO. Even more than Christmas, Thanksgiving is a day that requires power in order to cook the Thanksgiving dinner. I realize this is not a priority for PEPCO and their friends on the extreme left who protect them, but for the rest of America it is a priority.

The fact is, as I told you last year, Bronrott, Goldwater (and possibly her successor, Bill Frick, in the future), and Lee all get a fat check each year from their friends at PEPCO. In return, they allow PEPCO to raise your rates to new levels, while customer service hits a new low. Comcast has the same deal going. So there is no accountability, no competition, your rates go up, and you can't get a single live person on the phone to complain to. It's outrageous. Get this straight: YOU WILL NEVER HAVE EXCELLENT SERVICE FROM PEPCO OR COMCAST UNTIL YOU ELECT NEW REPRESENTATIVES WHO AREN'T BEHOLDEN TO THEM.

Anyone who knows me knows that Robert Dyer is the People's Crusader when it comes to PEPCO's high rates and failure to provide the level of service equal to the excessive cost. Last year I made competition in utilities a major issue in my campaign. Robert Dyer is apparently the only one who will speak out on behalf of the citizens of Bethesda. PEPCO must pay the bills for every customer who lost power today, including food that had to be thrown out, and the restaurant bill for those of us who increased the 5% of Americans who eat Thanksgiving dinner at restaurants today.

To PEPCO and their elected friends in Annapolis and Rockville, the Grinches who Stole Thanksgiving: Bah humbug. To everyone else, Happy Thanksgiving.