The first step is to be sure you know the difference. Christina Harper, a spokeswoman for Pepco, which supplies electricity to Washington and surrounding communities in Maryland, said you can trace a power line as it comes into your house. “If wires are coming in off a pole, the very top wires are Pepco’s,” she said. “Under that are the cable and phone lines.” The wires connect to your house at a vertical pipe, called a weather head, and the lines dip close to that so any rainwater can drip off before the line carries power down to the meter box.
