A coalition of Maryland consumer advocates, environmental organizations, and labor leaders is asking regulators to turn down Baltimore Gas and Electric's newest rate increase bid. After the utility reported $578 million in profit, the coalition doesn't want people to have higher bills, according to Maryland Matters.
Here's what to know
The outlet noted BGE asked for a $156 million increase, a move the company says would raise customer bills by about $8 a month and lift its return on equity from 9.5% to 10.4%.
Opponents argue the proposal is hard to justify for a monopoly utility.
"After six years of annual rate hikes and record-breaking profits, BGE has come forward not with solutions but with more problems," said Emily Scarr, a senior adviser with Maryland PIRG, per Maryland Matters. "Enough is enough."
Affordability is at the center of the fight. Maryland Office of People's Counsel says BGE's electricity distribution rates have risen at about twice the rate of inflation since 2010. Gas rates have climbed at about three times inflation.
Maryland Matters also reported that roughly 290,000 BGE customers were behind on their bills as of March 2026. As utilities pad profits with higher prices, becoming less dependent on them is increasing in appeal.
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More background
To advocates, the filing is one instance in a pattern in which investor-owned utilities continue seeking more from customers.
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At a Baltimore news conference, Angel Nuñez, a bishop at East Baltimore's Bilingual Christian Church, said the impact is already being felt in the community, per Maryland Matters.
"They bring it to the church and ask us to help them out to pay these bills," Nuñez said. "But there's a problem. We can't help them. You know why? Because we're getting these bills in the thousands."
What's being done?
The Maryland Public Service Commission is expected to decide the case in early 2027, and Chairman Kumar Barve put the onus on BGE.
"The burden of proof is on the company, BGE, to prove that they're correct and that they need higher rates," Barve said, per Maryland Matters,
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Consumer advocates are also pushing for tighter limits on how utility profit levels are determined.
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