Posted on 01/22/25
| News Source: WBAL
Baltimore, MD - Jan. 22, 2025 - Another slight increase is coming to your Baltimore Gas and Electric bill in February.
The Maryland Public Service Commission on Wednesday approved a Baltimore Gas and Electric proposal to reallocate a cost to customers.
The approval comes amid an announcement from PJM, a regional transmission organization, that there’s a new record in the demand for electricity due to extreme cold.
Maryland Public Service Commission Chairman Fred Hoover said the commission’s job is truly a balancing act.
“It’s an ongoing effort on our part to make sure that customers are not charged any more than they need to be charged to maintain that service that they’re getting from the companies, but also that the companies treat the customers fairly,” Hoover told 11 News.
The commissioners on Wednesday considered a BGE proposal to address a need to cover the costs of equipment and gas. The utility wants to reallocate those costs to customers.
Adjustments like this are made on a regular basis, but this one comes at a time when customers are feeling the heat of rate increases.
“We’ve been very concerned about, particularly, a day like today when we’re having this extreme weather that costs to heat your house — whether it’s from natural gas or electricity — is a big problem. We have different proceedings going on here where we’re trying to examine the rate impact, particularly on low-income customers,” Hoover told 11 News.
With approval from the PSC, the increase will come on February bills. No additional funds are kept by the utility, and it’s an amount that constantly shifts in tune with the price of gas. So, how long the increase will be on bills is uncertain.
“That price tends to fluctuate now, and it’s going to fluctuate a lot more because of it becoming a worldwide commodity. And so, we make these adjustments on a regular basis,” Hoover told 11 News.
In total, 30 cents will be tacked on to the average customer’s bill next month.
The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel sent a statement to 11 News, saying: “Today’s hearing did not authorize an increase to BGE’s base distribution rates, from which BGE earns its profits. The revisions in BGE’s Rider 7 at issue in today’s administrative meeting before the Maryland Public Service Commission involved a routine accounting update to which OPC did not object. Under it, BGE’s Rider 7 recovers the company’s costs for procuring gas pipeline capacity in advance to cover BGE’s obligations as a provider of last resort for gas supply, accounting for system growth or decline.”
BGE customers can save energy and money during extreme cold with these tips. You can also contact BGE for energy assistance resources.