Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) announced Wednesday, July 2 it has filed with the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) for adjustments to the electric and natural gas distribution portions of residential and commercial customers’ bills. The change will have impact on BGE’s electric customers in Northern Calvert County. The utility has just under 9,000 electric customers in that small portion of its territory.
According to a BGE press release, under the proposed rate adjustments, the average residential electric bill is expected to increase by $6.57 per month. “This is more than offset by a 13 percent decrease in BGE’s electric standard offer service that went into effect June 1, 2014 and translates to a $12 savings on a total average residential electric customer bill” the press release stated.
Utility officials added that customers with smart meters “can further offset the proposed distribution rate adjustment through the BGE Smart Energy Rewards program, which provides bill credits to customers who voluntarily use less energy on Energy Savings Days.”
During a progress report presented to the Calvert County Commissioners Tuesday, June 17, BGE Manager of External Affairs Bonnie Johansen stated BGE’s Calvert territory “is ahead of the curve” in the installation of smart meters.
Additionally, implementation of the utility’s Electric Reliability Investment (ERI) initiative has helped reduce the number of power outages customers experience and the duration of each outage. “That’s a really big program and it’s been going very well,” Johansen said. “Our customers are more satisfied overall. People are happy when they have their power, naturally.”
Commissioner Evan K. Slaughenhoupt Jr. {R], who lives in the Third Election District, which includes BGE’s Calvert electric service territory, stated that he has noticed the number of outages and the length of outage duration times have been going down.
“I don’t get the complaint calls I used to get,” said Commissioner Susan Shaw [R].
The BGE press release stated the utility has plans to invest “more than $3 billion in additional capital from 2014 to 2018,” with some of the funds dedicated to upgrades to equipment such as poles, wires and monitoring equipment.
According to BGE officials, a decision on its proposed rates is expected from the PSC in late January.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
