Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Public Service Commission came to Ellicott City - again - to hear from residents around the county.
In contrast to Annapolis, where just one person took to the microphone, more than a dozen spoke in Howard County at a hearing about a rate increase requested by Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., the Howard County Times reported. The hearing comes less than two weeks after a report, submitted by the Public Service Commission staff, called BGE’s service in certain Ellicott City neighborhoods “below average.” The report is part of an investigation into BGE's reliability in areas of Ellicott City. At Wednesday night’s hearing, 14 people testified against the rate increase, the Times reported. BGE wants to raise about $175 million in the first year of the hike, which will apply to the distribution fees on customers’ bills. With that money, BGE …
Friday, September 14, 2012
But at a hearing with the PSC, the chief executive officer supported the utility's decision to withhold information from officials to protect customers' privacy.
The chief executive officer of BGE told the state’s utilities regulator on Thursday that the only way to shorten the length of major power outages would be to have a “very different delivery system,” the Baltimore Sun reports. BGE CEO Kenneth W. DeFontes Jr. was speaking at a Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing, scheduled after more than 760,000 Maryland residents lost power in the wake of the late-June derecho storm. At the hearing, which is standard procedure after “major outage events,” DeFontes reportedly told regulators that BGE would need to bury some power lines–and more aggressively trim trees–to prevent more long-term outages. After June’s derecho, customers who lost power were in the dark for an average of 38 hours…
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Follow-up to June storm is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the George Howard Building.
The Public Service Commission is hosting a public hearing in Ellicott City Wednesday evening, one of several statewide so citizens can discuss utility company responses to the devastating June 29 storm. In Maryland, it took BGE eight days to restore power to the 748,000 customers whose service was knocked out, 62 percent of its statewide customer base. In July, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and other county leaders sent a letter to the Public Service Commission, which regulates BGE, asking that it require utility companies to make operational improvements. The Howard County hearing will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 15, in the George Howard Building. Other hearings are scheduled for Baltimore on Tuesday, Aug. 14; and Towson, on …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Money from a rate increase will not be used for new work, but BGE will continue to update infrastructure, spokesman said.
A rate adjustment requested by BGE will mostly cover work that the utility company has already performed, according to a spokesman. “In Maryland, that’s the way it works,” BGE Spokesman Rob Gould said. “You spend the money and then you go back to the [Public Service] Commission and you ask them for recovery of the costs that you incurred.” BGE announced Friday evening that it had filed a request with the Public Service Commission (PSC) for a rate hike that, according to the utility, would add an additional $7.22 to the “typical” customer’s electric bill. There are a few places where BGE will use some of the money going forward, Gould said, including vegetation maintenance. “BGE customer bills will still be lower in total than then …
Friday, July 20, 2012
The Public Service Commission will hear from residents across the state about their outages.
Maryland's utility regulator has scheduled hearings across the state to hear from residents about their experiences with the utilities during the powerful derecho storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of residents. The Maryland Public Service Commission will hear testimony from Howard County residents on Wednesday, Aug. 15 at the George Howard Building in Ellicott City at 7 p.m. Residents who wish to submit written testimony may do so by Sept. 10. Mail comments to: David J. Collins, Executive Secretary, Maryland Public Service Commission, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul Street, 16th Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. In a July 10 letter to the PSC, officials said that utilities needed to improve performance, …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
In a letter to the utilities' regulatory agency, leaders of seven jurisdictions outline changes they said need to be made in light of the power failures during the derecho storm.
Less than two weeks after a massive storm disabled power to more than three quarters of a million Maryland residents, elected leaders wrote in a letter to a state regulatory agency that utility companies need to improve their performance and disclose critical outage information when government agencies request it. In the letter to the Public Service Commission, officials urged the regulatory agency to consider changes to the way utilities operate, including burying some power lines underground, mandatory staffing levels and improved disclosure of outage information to local municipal officials. The letter was signed by Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and the executives of Anne Arundel, …
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Electric companies consider offering opt-out policies for smart meters—but not for free.
Making room for a potential customer opt-out from smart meters, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), Pepco, and Delmarva Power outlined potential opt-out plans at a recent public hearing on the topic, according to a Maryland Gazette report by Sara Blumberg. BGE executives proposed a plan that would let customers pay their way out of the program. But those who want to keep their existing, analog meters would have to pay a $50 one-time fee. Plus they'd get a monthly fee—anwhere from $10 to $60—Wayne Harbaugh, director of pricing and regulator services at BGE said during the Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing Tuesday, the Gazette reported. As electric companies move forward in their efforts to install smart meters in homes and businesses …
MS
1:50 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013
This hearing only dealt with BGE's request is increase it's distribution (delivery) rates. BGE is increasing the price of electricity supply on June 1 - that has already been approved by the MD Public Service Commission. On June 1 BGE is raising the price of the electricity it supplies to residential (Schedule R) customers from 8.94 cents per kWh to 10.474 cents per kWh - a 16.8% increase. BGE … more ›