Nor'easter impacts minimal so far in Bethesda, primarily power outages

A powerful Nor'easter that is smashing states north of here has had only mild impacts on Bethesda so far. Roads never did get much of a coating, as pavement and even many sidewalks appeared to retain heat from the temperate and sunny weather prior to the storm. Safety concerns on roads around town are limited to the slickness of water, and the occasional slush patch. The storm has proved stubborn in continuing to generate snow flurries all morning, even if they failed to stick on the streets. 

There could be danger in the hours ahead and overnight. Winds are forecast to pick up through the afternoon. Combined with heavy snow on limbs, this could lead to fallen trees and power lines. With temperatures dropping, and a low of 25° expected over the night, anything not melted - as well as the water from what has melted - will present a road hazard through Tuesday morning.

Power outages are scattered across Bethesda. Two significant outages in the Bannockburn area, and in the area of the Josiah Henson Parkway, have persisted into this morning from over the night. Now there are additional outages in the vicinity of Somerset, at four locations along Bradley Boulevard between Goldsboro Road and the Capital Beltway, in Chevy Chase near Meadowbrook Local Park, along Sangamore Road near the intelligence campus, in the Glen Echo Heights/Mohican Hills area, near Fenway Road, and near the intersection of River Road and Western Avenue.

Power outage in downtown Bethesda

Hundreds of Pepco customers are without power in downtown Bethesda after an apparent transformer explosion in the Woodmont Triangle area overnight. Residents report hearing multiple explosions around 3:15 AM this morning. Pepco crews have been working in the area all morning. The utility hopes to have power restored by 2:00 PM. Frequent transformer explosions and outages downtown continue to highlight the question of whether Montgomery County's adequate infrastructure laws regarding growth are, well, adequate. The empirical evidence would suggest not.

Westbard Pepco electrical grid woes took another embarrassing turn pre-storm Sunday

A three-and-a-half hour power outage in the Westbard area of Bethesda Sunday once again put the weakness of Pepco's grid in that area under scrutiny. Power went out to more than 300 customers of the utility at 3:36 PM yesterday. There was no inclement weather in the area at the time. Power was restored around 7:00 PM. 

It had been known for several days in advance that severe weather would strike on Sunday, yet it appeared that no additional crews had been called in to assist, as it took several hours for one to be assigned to the Westbard outage. At least 37 people were killed by the same storm system in other states, underlining the real potential for disaster here. 

The Westbard area has experienced repeated brownouts and short power outages since 2017, which have posed a major threat to appliances and devices plugged in or operating during the incidents. It is unclear if the reliability issues are related to the redevelopment construction work taking place on Westbard Avenue and Ridgefield Road, Maryland's severely-reduced electric generation capacity after leaders forced the closure of 8 power plants, or Pepco equipment failures.

Westbard electrical grid fails again in Bethesda

The ongoing problems with Pepco's electrical grid in the Westbard area of Bethesda reared their ugly head again early yesterday afternoon. Customers in the Springfield neighborhood reported experiencing a brownout Thursday, February 20, 2025, between 1:24 and 1:26 PM. A second brownout occurred at 2:21 PM, and lasted about 90 seconds. As of 2:58 PM Thursday, about 50 Pepco customers in the Westbard area were experiencing a power outage that the utility estimated would take two to three hours to restore.

There was no severe weather in the area at the time of the power outages. One reader reported seeing Pepco crews working on power lines along River Road and Willard Avenue at the time. Such outages and brownouts can cause severe or fatal damage to appliances and devices that are plugged in during the sudden power cut-off and surge of restoration. 

If you were affected by the brownouts, make a record of it, and of any subsequent failure of appliances in your home, so you can seek reimbursement for damages caused by the faulty grid - not an "act of God." It remains unclear if the repeated brownouts since 2017 are related to the major redevelopment and construction along Westbard Avenue and the since-renamed block of Ridgefield Road, which began at that time. What is clear, is that there are issues with the grid in the Westbard area, as all of the incidents have occurred when there was no severe weather at the time of the brownouts or outages.

Westbard Pepco grid fails briefly ahead of high winds today in Bethesda

A wind advisory will be in effect today in Bethesda from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with gusts forecast by the National Weather Service to be up to 55 MPH, and isolated power outages expected around the Washington, D.C. region due to wind and falling trees. But the Pepco electric grid in the Westbard area already had a brief failure this morning, before the high winds had even arrived. Residents report that a power outage of several minutes occurred around 12:50 AM. There was no inclement weather in the area at the time. The electric grid in the Westbard area has had a significant number of outages, and appliance-damaging brownouts, since redevelopment work began on the commercial properties along Westbard Avenue and Ridgefield Road in 2017. Once again, concerns expressed by residents during the Westbard sector plan meetings - impact on utility infrastructure capacity, in this case - have proven to be prescient.

Last night, a Pepco crew was working on a significant project in the Woodmont Triangle ahead of today's cold front. Del Ray Avenue was blocked in both directions, where a large amount of utility equipment and vehicles had been brought in to work overnight.

Bethesda residents wonder when Montgomery County Council will act on failing Westbard infrastructure

Infrastructure Week? The Westbard area of Bethesda needs Infrastructure Month. Residents were reminded of that yet again last night, during the latest complete power failure. Meteorologists raved all day on TV and radio about just how perfect the weather was Tuesday. But at 7:29 PM, residents in the Springfield neighborhood report, there was a total power outage. Homes were dark for a total of three minutes before power was restored at 7:32 PM, potentially damaging household appliances and devices that were plugged in to charge or operate at that time.

The blackout follows two weeks of lengthy Xfinity service outages in the same area of Bethesda. Neither Pepco nor Comcast has publicly announced the cause of the service interruptions. The Westbard area has experienced power outages and brownouts since 2018, when redevelopment of the area got underway. Whether the Pepco and Comcast grids are failing due to age, construction on Westbard Avenue, or the increased demand to power the new development at Westbard is unclear as long as Montgomery County and the utilities maintain silence on the issue.

Montgomery County elected officials, who approved the growth in the 2016 Westbard sector plan, have been sound asleep at the switch throughout the outages. They've continuously failed to step up to the plate to represent their constituents, while collecting ever-rising six-figure salaries on the County Council. 

Yet another Pepco brownout in Westbard area of Bethesda

Some Westbard-area residents briefly lost power once again, in the latest Pepco brownout in that area of Bethesda since 2017. Residents reported a power loss of about 7 seconds early Thursday evening, October 19, 2023 at 6:21 PM. The last incident was a full power outage October 2, 2023 at 1:50 AM, only 17 days earlier. 

There was no inclement weather during either incident. If you were among the customers affected, make sure to make a note of the brownout in your records. Should your appliances or devices that were plugged in fail, Pepco is responsible for the damage.

Pepco power grid woes continue in Westbard area of Bethesda

Pepco's power grid failed again in the Westbard area of Bethesda early this morning. At 1:50 AM Monday, October 2, 2023, customers of the Exelon-owned electric utility lost power for about 40 seconds, residents report. There were no storms or notable winds in the area at the time of the outage. This was the latest in a series of blackouts and brownouts in the Westbard area over the last several years, none of which have been weather-related. The ongoing problems raise questions as to the ability of Pepco's system to absorb any additional service load in that area, which will add hundreds of new housing units along Westbard Avenue over the next two years.

Thousands without power in Bethesda after thunderstorm damages and uproots trees

Pepco crews staging at the 7-Eleven store
on River Road in Bethesda this morning

UPDATE - 7:07 AM: Additional brownouts reported in the Westbard area from 6:49 AM to 6:51 AM, at which time there was a power outage from 6:51 to 7:03 AM, and at 7:04 AM.

Over 10,000 Pepco customers remain without power this morning in Montgomery County, but that number is down about 60,000 from the height of last evening's thunderstorm damage. The weather event, and resulting tree and power line damage, has been one of the few significant tests for Pepco since the electric utility was acquired by Exelon in 2016. Yesterday's storm appeared deceptively routine for late summer, but spawned straight line winds in areas like North Bethesda and Rockville, and had some in Northwest Washington, D.C. reporting a tornado in their community.

Southwest Bethesda neighborhoods like Springfield, Sumner, Wood Acres, Bannockburn and Spring Hill are still experiencing significant power outages. Grid resiliency issues reared their head again in the Westbard area long after skies had cleared Saturday night. Residents there who were fortunate enough to retain power after the storm last night report experiencing brownouts at 2:12 AM and 4:32 AM. The 4:32 AM brownout was an extended one, as after a split-second blackout that ravaged appliance motors, light fixtures were shimmering and flickering until all power was lost around 4:45 AM. Power was then restored around 4:48 AM. Interestingly, both brownout episodes reported seem to coincide with brand new power outages in the Westbard and Wood Acres/Searl Terrace areas, which the Pepco outage map indicates were reported at 2:15 AM (Searl Terrace) and 4:53 AM (Westbard Avenue). This morning's brownouts follow three sunny day brownouts in the Westbard area two weeks ago.

In North Bethesda, apartment building residents reported being in the dark Saturday night, and outages persist around Grosvenor, Garrett Park, Tilden Lane, Randolph Hills and the Randolph Road corridor this morning. Things aren't looking much better in the Twinbrook and Rollins Park areas of Rockville.

Aspen Hill is still smarting today with many outages. Fortunately for those without air conditioning, today's high will "only" be 85 degrees, instead of the 99 degree peak experienced last Friday. Outages also persist around Leisure World, Bel Pre Road, Wheaton, Kensington, Kemp Mill, Takoma Park, Hillandale, Colesville and Fairland. 

The storm appears to have cut a straight path across Montgomery Village, Goshen, and Laytonsville, judging from the large number of outages there. Outages remain in the Kentlands, Montgomery College-Germantown campus, Olney and Sandy Spring areas. 

2 Westbard-area power outages in 2 days as Pepco works on River Road

Pepco crew working on River Road
in Bethesda last night

Some residents of the Westbard area experienced two short power outages on Wednesday and Thursday, as Pepco crews continue work on a Westbard redevelopment-related utility project on River Road. A very brief outage occurred Wednesday night, and a twenty-minute outage again at 10:20 AM on Thursday morning. There was no bad weather or wind in the area during either outage.

It is not clear if the outages were caused by an equipment failure, or related to the Westbard redevelopment work. What is clear, is that this type of outage can severely damage household appliances.

Brief but violent storm causes several power outages in Bethesda

UPDATE 6:46 PM: Eastbound River Road is closed at Springfield Drive in Bethesda. A tree has fallen in the roadway.

A brief storm with intense lightning, strong winds and heavy blasts of hail passed through Bethesda just before 6:00 PM this evening. At this time, there are about 2580 Pepco customers wihout power. The power outages are currently in Westmoreland Hills, Springfield, Burning Tree Estates, Carderock, Chevy Chase, Tilden Woods, and homes near Walt Whitman High School and The Heights school, according to Pepco. It looks like one of the storm cells followed East-West Highway at one point, causing some major outages in that corridor of Chevy Chase and Silver Spring.

High winds causing power outages in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, North Bethesda, Potomac

Gusty winds are bringing down trees and power lines, and causing power outages this morning in Montgomery County. There are currently three outages in the Westbard area, with a crew assigned to the largest of the three, which impacts 43 Pepco customers. 

Small outages currently affect about 5 customers each in the Chevy Chase/Martin's Additions area, the area between Tilden Lane and Montrose Parkway, the area near the Target on Bou Avenue, an area south of Bells Mill Road off of Gainsborough Road, customers along Falls Road near Potomac Village and the Bullis School, and East Rockville just east of the CSX/Metro tracks.

Major outages are found further north along I-270. 710 customers are in the dark along the Watkins Mill Road corridor between MD 355 and Montgomery Village. 98 customers are impacted by an outage between Scenery Drive and Middlebrook Road east of MD 355 in Germantown. A small outage near Kingsview Middle School in Germantown currently affects 5 customers.

Expect more outages, with wind gusts between 20 and 50 MPH until late morning. Watch for downed trees, falling limbs and live power lines they may hit and displace. Bring in all unsecured objects that might blow away from yards or balconies.

PEPCO RESTORES POWER AT CRESCENT PLAZA, NEARBY BUSINESSES IN DOWNTOWN BETHESDA (PHOTOS)

Pepco beat its midnight estimate, restoring power to several blocks of downtown Bethesda around Leland Street, off Wisconsin Avenue.

Crews are still on scene as of this hour.

CRESCENT PLAZA RESIDENTS WAIT FOR POWER TO BE RESTORED TO BUILDING (PHOTOS)

Residents of Crescent Plaza, like hundreds of others in Bethesda, are waiting to have their electricity restored.

In the meantime, they are charging phones and laptops at two charging stations in the lobby.

According to signs in the lobby, residents should not use trash chutes until power is restored.

Pepco has said power could be restored to the building by midnight. But with crews now on scene, hopefully lights will be back on soon.

PEPCO ON SCENE AT DOWNTOWN BETHESDA POWER OUTAGES (PHOTOS)

Pepco crews are working along southbound Wisconsin Avenue near Eastham's, Leland Street, and the shopping center south of there.

One right lane is closed. Golden City, Royal Cleaners and Crescent Plaza are among those without power.

Power could be restored shortly.