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.