Exelon touts growth to Wall Street as Maryland families shoulder higher BGE delivery bills

Exelon is telling shareholders to expect years of expansion at the same time Baltimore Gas and Electric is asking Maryland customers and regulators to accept higher delivery costs.

That juxtaposition is attracting new attention as families keep navigating higher prices for housing, groceries, and other basics.

What's happening?

A recent commentary published by Citybiz says Exelon's investor-facing outlook clashes with the reasons BGE gives regulators and customers when arguing that rates need to go up.

Alongside projections of 7.9% rate base growth and $41.7 billion in capital spending over the next four years, Exelon left in place its first-quarter 2026 full-year adjusted operating earnings guidance of $2.81 to $2.91 per share.

The company also said earnings per share should grow near the top of a 5% to 7% annual range from 2025 through 2029.

Serving about 1.3 million electric customers and roughly 700,000 gas customers across central and southern Maryland, BGE has said its repeated rate filings are needed for reliability, modernization, and customer service. Critics contrast that with Exelon's broader emphasis on growth and investor returns.

For many customers, the source of rising power bills is not obvious. Increases are often blamed on electricity generation, but in Maryland the delivery portion of the bill — including poles, wires, and related infrastructure — has been a major force behind recent increases.

Why does it matter?

Because delivery utilities operate as monopolies, approved infrastructure projects can translate directly into customer rates. Once regulators authorize that spending, utilities are generally permitted to earn a set return on it, so monthly bills can reflect both the cost of the projects and the profit tied to them.

Higher utility bills can leave less room in household budgets for other expenses.

Recent polling found that 76% of Americans favor stronger oversight of utility spending, while 58% say they do not know what is actually causing their bills to rise. That lack of clarity can make it harder for customers to challenge rate hikes or understand which charges are rising the fastest.

It also raises questions about accountability. In competitive electricity markets such as PJM, power generators generally have to absorb the cost of bad bets or overbuilding. Monopoly delivery utilities, by contrast, can face less pressure when they seek cost recovery for large capital programs.

What's being done?

For now, the main tool available is oversight. The Maryland Public Service Commission can closely review whether proposed infrastructure spending is truly necessary, whether projects are being sequenced responsibly, and whether rate increases are being justified in a way that protects customers rather than simply expanding utility returns.

The commentary also calls on Governor Wes Moore to more publicly press for working families and ask whether each purportedly unavoidable increase actually meets that standard.

The report distinguishes between supply and delivery charges and notes that payment plans, energy assistance, and programs that reduce home energy waste may help ease the impact of higher bills.

The debate is unlikely to disappear any time soon, especially as utilities around the country continue planning massive grid investments that could keep pushing delivery costs higher.

Critics are likely to keep questioning Exelon's messaging so long as BGE describes higher charges as necessary while the parent company tells investors it is "on track for another year of consistent operational and financial performance" and speaks of "balancing affordability."

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