UPDATE: Thousands Sign on To Petition Pepco for Change

When Silver Spring resident Kevin Grandia in the thick of the heat, he didn’t think thousands of people would flock to his movement.

But they have.

It’s been about a week since electricity was restored to customers in the metropolitan area and Grandia’s petition, Pepco CEO: Invest your millions in profits to improve our power system, has been growing by the hundreds everyday.

When the petition started, his initial goal was 2,000 but Grandia tells Patch that he wants as many people as it takes to make the change. The threshold stands at 5,000 with over 3,000 signatures on it.

Many people who sign the petition say Pepco needs to be organized.

Carter Rawson wrote:

I am signing because I am willing to testify as a homeowner that there has to be a coordinated solution between Pepco, its MoCo customers, MoCo gov't and Gov. O'Malley. This is everybody's problem. I have watched tree trimming efforts countywide for months and frankly that is not going to solve the problem. I ask that a tax credit be offered to residents to install generators in addition to burying the lines. This is the only way to control costs since the effort to bury lines in existing neighborhoods will take years. We need to focus on the main arteries first and then move to the dead-end streets. Slow and steady wins the race. Thank you for the petition.

Eva-Maria von Bronk wrote:

It is unbelievable to me that a country like the US still has power lines above ground (among trees). I lived in Germany and France and their lines have been underground for the past 40 years!

Oscar Viera wrote:

Because Pepco is one of the worst companies out there. Unbelievable that they make such high profits and still screw over their customers.

Dan Maced wrote:

Power lines should be underground. We are forced to spend 2.5 billion to help clean the Anacostia 1 billion to reduce the recurring storm damage power outages should be mandatory.

Patrick Burnett wrote:

As a college student in DC, I want to be confident that my electricity will not be knocked out for days after every major storm!

Freya Grand wrote:

Pepco has one of the worst records in the country for maintaining power in an urban area. This is the Nation's Capital!! We need to have the power lines buried under ground!

Julie Weinberg wrote:

EVERY storm is a bad storm. I'm sick of hearing that lame excuse from Pepco. It's YOUR JOB to work around the clock to restore my power. I'm not impressed. I should NEVER go DOUBLE DIGITS for the number of days I'm without power in any given year. I should NOT be required to buy a back up generator to sell my house because buyers have heard of how often we lack electrictity. Shame on you.

Marija Agatic wrote:

I have 2 small children (3 & 1 years old) & we were 5 days without power, spent fortune on hotels.

Susan Brendler wrote:

Tired of loosing power. The tree trimming is just butchering our trees. They should have done this 20 years ago.

What do you think should be done? Share your thoughts below.