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In the past few years, Sue Cohen of Rockville has had her personal computer destroyed and has tossed out countless groceries because of Pepco power outages.

On Monday, Cohen joined about 350 others at a public hearing to tell the Maryland Public Service Commission they are fed up with Montgomery County's electricity service provided by Pepco.

The hearing, which lasted until past midnight, was frustrating for Cohen and many others who walked out before they got a chance to speak. Residents waited as 24 elected officials spoke first, consuming about two hours of the more than six-hour hearing.

Residents who did stay to speak demanded more regulation, stricter standards and an explanation for frequent power outages — even in good weather.

The hearing in Rockville was part of the state regulatory agency's investigation into Pepco's service following widespread complaints about frequent outages.

The investigation began Aug. 12, and another public hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Prince George's County.

The investigation stems from a July storm that left more than 200,000 residents without power — many for several days.

For the past two years, Pepco has been in the bottom 50 percent or 25 percent nationwide of utilities in terms of service interruptions, said William Gausman, the utility's senior vice president for asset management and planning, during a hearing earlier this month before the Public Service Commission in Baltimore.

About 40 people left Monday's hearing before it was their turn to speak. The hearing in Rockville lasted more than six hours — running from 6 p.m. until about 12:15 a.m. At the start, 24 elected officials were scheduled to speak, along with 90 residents.

The elected officials spoke first. Speakers included U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr., (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington; County Executive Isiah Leggett (D); eight Montgomery County Council members and numerous members of the county's delegation in Annapolis.

About half of the nonelected officials who signed up left before they were called, said Bryan Moorhouse, special counsel to the Public Service Commission Chairman Douglas R. M. Nazarian.

Cohen, 59, said she left Monday's hearing at 9 p.m. — almost four hours after she arrived. Before the hearing, Cohen, who relies on the Internet for her home-based business, said she is unable to calculate the financial toll the utility's spotty service has taken on her family.

After the hearing, Cohen wrote in an e-mail to the Gazette, "I was cynical about Pepco and real change before I arrived, (and) I left even more cynical about the PSC and any real commitment this process .... Why bother will all the expense and photo [opportunities] if Pepco is allowed to provide some of the worst service to Maryland's customers while we keep paying top dollar for lousy and intermittent power?"

House Majority Leader Del. Kumar P. Barve (D-Dist. 17) of Gaithersburg noted that his relatives in Mumbai, India, say they have fewer power outages than residents of Gaithersburg.

Montgomery County Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Potomac said he has helped draft state legislation with Del. Brian J. Feldman (D-Dist. 15) of Potomac that would link Pepco collections from ratepayers with the level of service the company provides.

"Today we do not have any state standards by which to judge Pepco's performance," Berliner told the commission. "You have not said to Pepco, here is the standard of reliability we expect you to meet. If we have no state standard, it is difficult, if not impossible, to hold Pepco accountable when the lights go out."

Councilman Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg said he supported the legislation.

"There has to be a tie between what Pepco is authorized to collect and what they are required to provide," Andrews said. "We need penalties for the lack of delivery of reliable service."

Richard Reynolds, 75, and his wife, Shirley, 73, of Kensington, said their power had been out four times in the past eight months, with the outages ranging from just a few hours to six days.

"It's a consistent problem," Shirley Reynolds said. "By the fourth time, you should have figured out how to fix the problem."

Like other residents, the Reynoldses say they had to throw out everything in their refrigerators — an expense that John Howley of Silver Spring said Pepco should pay.

"Order Pepco to give $100 to residents when power is out for six hours [or more] to replace groceries," Howley told the commission.

Harvey Klein of Potomac told the commission Monday Pepco's power structure has suffered from poor management and maintenance.

"This is not just a failure to communicate; it's a failure to plan, a failure to invest, a failure to perform," Klein said. "It's incompetence of management, and there's no other word for it."

Klein encouraged the commission to demand detailed reports from Pepco.

"We need to know why they are failing to deliver quality power to the citizens of Montgomery County," said Klein, who said he is a Pepco shareholder. "I think you need to hold some feet to the fire."

During a news conference Friday, Pepco officials promised improved performance through a five-year, $256-million reliability enhancement plan for the county.

In Montgomery County, the company has started or completed 119 projects to cut trees, shore up primary distribution lines and increase transmission, three of the six main reliability improvements the company promised.

"Our plan is extremely comprehensive," Thomas H. Graham, Pepco region president, said Friday. "It's going to be impactful. Every step of the way, results will be provided to our customers. Reliability will improve."

Moorhouse said the Public Service Commission's next steps — after this week's public hearings — will be to ensure Pepco follows up on several requests, and an Oct. 12 hearing is scheduled to provide a status update on the investigation.

The commission issued an order Aug. 26 containing 23 requests for information and documents from Pepco. The commission also stated it will hire an independent consultant to review Pepco.

"The consultant would be paid for by [Pepco], but would be selected by us," Moorhouse said.

Gausman said Pepco would measure improved reliability by tracking whether outages decrease in frequency or duration at spots where improvements are made.

Gausman said the company looks forward to working with the PSC during the investigation. Pepco representatives also spoke one-on-one with customers during Monday's hearing.

However, Pepco officials were prevented by the PSC from telling attendees about the one-on-one sessions taking place four stories above the public hearing in the Montgomery County Council building.

Debbi Jarvis, vice president of corporate communications for Pepco, said the company was relying on the PSC to spread the word. Around 6 p.m., about 10 people were waiting to speak with Pepco representatives.

Staff Writer Danielle E. Gaines contributed to this report.

ecunningham@gazette.net