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PSC staff orders deeper checks after utilities report missed periodic equipment inspections
Summary
Staff told the Commission that BGE, Pepco and Delmarva self‑reported missed periodic inspections. Staff accepted corrective action plans but asked Pepco and Delmarva to add field checks, monthly progress reports and more frequent audits; BGE's smaller recent miss was attributed to manual data transfer error.
During the July 10, 2025 annual reliability hearing, Public Service Commission staff and utility witnesses described how three utilities self‑reported failures to meet the periodic equipment inspection standard and presented corrective action plans.
Why it matters: periodic equipment inspections are an explicit COMAR requirement designed to identify safety hazards and failing equipment before they cause outages or safety incidents. Staff told the Commission missing inspections has been linked to software and data‑migration issues and that more frequent verification is needed.
What staff reported: Pepco and Delmarva told staff their missed inspections stemmed from systematic data‑integration failures associated with a 2019 asset‑management system conversion and misalignment between GIS and the asset‑management database (AS8). Pepco also cited a misalignment between its manhole‑inspection program and underground‑radio‑transformer inspection cycles. BGE reported three missed pad‑mount transformer inspections discovered while the company implemented its 2023 corrective plan; BGE said the missed items were not causes of outages and attributed the lapse to a manual data‑transfer error.
Staff recommended—and told the Commission it would seek an order requiring—three specific amendments to Pepco’s and Delmarva’s corrective action plans: - Field verification: conduct system‑wide field checks to reconcile GIS and AS8 records and confirm the location and status of equipment in the field. - Monthly progress reporting: file monthly reports with staff detailing completion of the “work‑down” plans, lessons learned and any issues found. - More frequent audits: perform quarterly internal audits (or more frequently) of preventative‑maintenance inspection plans and contractor work to detect and address missed inspections earlier.
Utilities’ response and timeline: both Pepco and Delmarva said they would implement a multifaceted approach—strengthening oversight, improving asset‑management tools and completing missed inspections. Both companies committed to complete missed 2024 inspections by the end of calendar year 2025. BGE said it completed the three pad‑mount transformer inspections and proposed quarterly expanded audits and cross‑checks.
Commissioner concerns and staff rationale: Commissioners pressed staff about whether the monthly reports give sufficient visibility and whether civil penalties were warranted. Staff told the Commission the utilities had been self‑reporting missed inspections since the Commission codified self‑reporting; staff has been reviewing companies’ monthly work‑down reports and conducting annual record inspections. Based on the level of company engagement and the completion of prior corrective action plans, staff said it was not recommending civil penalties for the recent misses but signaled that continued noncompliance could prompt stronger enforcement.
Selected quote: “We found that the utilities were conducting audits toward the tail end of the year… staff is requesting that the utilities have a more frequent meeting, more often, maybe quarterly, to then perform an audit to look at the work that the contractors are performing,” Deandre Wilson, acting manager, grid reliability and modernization, told the Commission.
Clarifying details from the hearing: - BGE discovered three missed pad‑mount transformer inspections in 2024; inspections found no required repairs. - Pepco and Delmarva trace missed inspections to a 2019 asset‑management system conversion and GIS/AS8 misalignment; both companies pledged to finish missed 2024 inspections by 2025‑12‑31.
The Commission did not issue an immediate written order at the hearing. Staff asked the Commission to adopt its recommended amendments so staff can monitor monthly progress and require field verification and more frequent audits.
