WASHINGTON, D.C. (WUSA9) -- Myra Oppel was sitting in her office at Pepco's Headquarters when the Derecho of 2012 hit. 

She watched as the power company's outages jumped from a few thousand to almost half a million. By the time it was all over, more than two-million people in Virginia, Maryland, and the District were in the dark, and it would take nearly two weeks before all the power was restored.

Almost a year later, Oppel met with WUSA9 to discuss what Pepco's doing to prepare for this latest round of storms. 

Smithsonian Women's Committee Members, Smithsonian Craft Show Artists and Dinner Guests Joined Five of DC's Top Interior Designers at Their Homes for the Second Annual Dinners by Design

David Mitchell, Andrew Law, Camille Saum, Skip Sroka, and Rosemarie Howe generously and creatively supported the recent Smithsonian Craft Show by hosting five exciting Dinners by Design. David Mitchell founded this annual event in 2012 and is working towards declaring April Design Month in DC.

Guests had the unique opportunity to tour the designers' homes, who offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at their residences while also sharing insight into the process of designing homes for some of the DC area's celebrities.