BALTIMORE (AP) - Maryland’s largest gas and electric utility proposed to regulators this week a plan to freeze customers’ base rates for the next two years and then raise them by about 8% in 2023 in an effort to provide economic relief to those feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The proposed changes by Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. would result in an increase of $12.87 on the average customer’s monthly bill in 2023, the Baltimore Sun reported. The utility’s estimates show the average customer’s bill after the planned increase will still be more than 20% lower than in 2008.
“This will ensure we can make investments needed not only to provide safe, reliable and secure service, but also to provide the economic stimulus we know our customers need now more than ever,” BGE CEO Carim Khouzami said of the plan submitted to the Maryland Public Service Commission.
The newspaper reported the utility is effectively front-loading long-term tax benefits that it will receive over a three-decade period. The company projects the rate freeze will cost more than $360 million.
Regulators are expected to issue a ruling in December.
The company operates in central Maryland and has 1.3 million electric customers and more than 680,000 natural gas customers. It is a subsidiary of Chicago-based Exelon.
Maryland People’s Counsel Paula M. Carmody, an independent state advocate who represents home utility customers, said that unlike previous one-year plans, this three-year proposal is “built on lots of forecasting and projections,” which will prompt a more “rigorous” review.
“The question is, does the forecast make sense? … It’s still a rate increase, and it’s our job to make sure any increase is a reasonable one for our customers to pay,” Carmody said.
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