Pepco’s D.C. customers cumulatively spent almost seven years in the dark in 2007 thanks to a medley of breakdowns that caused thousands of power outages, according to the company’s 2008 consolidated report.

The utility reported 57,533 outage hours in the District last year, equal to 2,397 days without electricity, numbers provided to the D.C. Public Service Commission show. Twenty-six percent of all outages were caused by trees; 22 percent by “deterioration,” equipment and infrastructure failures; 7 percent by lightning; 5 percent by animals — notably squirrels, rats and birds — and 2 percent by wind.

“We have thousands of pieces of equipment in a system, which you install and they go to their useful life and then they’re replaced,” said Chet Knapp, manager of Pepco’s reliability group.

It’s like a light bulb, Knapp said: The company is unlikely to catch a failing switch, fuse or cable before it blows out.

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Pepco, Knapp said, “recognizes it’s going to take a significant investment in the system to make a substantive change to the system.” One of those improvements, the installation of a “smart grid” that can better communicate failures in the system, is still years away.

The most unreliable feeder cable in D.C. last year powers a section of upper Northwest between MacArthur Boulevard, Canal Road, W Street and Foxhall Road. The area is encased by trees, is a common target for lightning and is attractive to animals, Knapp said.

“For the most part,” he said, “we’re talking squirrels.”

Pepco submitted plans to the commission, as it is required to do, to improve the performance of the 15 least reliable feeder lines in Washington — those above and below ground. Promised actions include tree trimming, lightning arrestors and new wiring, cable and switches.

“This is an older part of the city and Pepco has not upgraded the line,” said Alma Gates, a Ward 3 advisory neighborhood commissioner. “If they want all these big increases in rate, then let’s start serving the ratepayers.”

D.C. People’s Counsel Elizabeth Noel, who represents ratepayers in utility matters, has called for “financial penalties that will provide the impetus for Pepco to be aggressive in its efforts to enhance reliability of its D.C. distribution system.”

Pepco’s outage data do not include “major events.” A sustained outage is one that lasts for at least five minutes.

mneibauer@dcexaminer.com