"We've been sweating through it": Maryland communities remain without electricity days after storms

Some neighbors in the Sykesville and Eldersburg area of Carroll County are still without power, spending more than 90 hours in the dark since strong storms ripped through Maryland last weekend.

BGE crews have been out restoring power to tens of thousands of customers across the state. The utility company says 98% of its work is done, but some communities continue to be without power.

BGE says fewer than 200 restoration jobs remain, and the majority of customers should get their power back by Wednesday night.

The company says the work has been complex because it was spread across the coverage area. Its priority was getting bigger jobs done first to get more customers back online.

Carroll County residents feel "lost in the big picture"

Neighbors in Carroll County say they are frustrated waiting for their power to be restored.

Keith McQuay said he lost power on July 4, and he is still without electricity.

"We've been sweating through it, spending a lot of time in our basement, which is cool, but the rest of the house, it's pretty hot," McQuay said. "I think what really hurt us is the weather was so hot and pretty humid that parts of the house got really hard to deal with…Our dogs are having difficulty with it too."

BGE says the outages in this area were caused by trees down on wires. It says the trees have to be removed before the wire repairs can be made.

"I feel like we're getting lost in the big picture," Carroll County resident Kimberly Stiff said. "It's frustrating because there are only 37 in our neighborhood, so I feel like we're getting lost in the big picture."

Stiff lost power overnight Monday and says she feels forgotten about.

"My business is completely dead in the water at this time," Stiff said. "I have a skincare business, develop a cow, and I can't render tallow. I can't process orders."

BGE crews are working to restore power

BGE says crews have been working around the clock to remove downed trees, repair powerlines and poles. More than 400 contractors from outside Maryland were brought in to help.

"We are working largest jobs to smallest jobs," said BGE spokesperson Nick Alexopulos. "Once we've cleared the trees, which is a big lift, then we can start the repair work and all of that together can take a long time."

Neighbors have been told their power will be restored by Wednesday night, but they aren't too sure that will happen.

"We're not holding our breath, so we have a good chance that we will be like this again tomorrow, but we're still hoping," McQuay said.

Restaurants in the area are trying to pitch in. Salerno's Restaurant is offering free ice for people trying to keep food cold in coolers while their power is out.