Residents in Maryland may soon be paying more for electricity after a major utility company proposed a summer rate increase.
What happened?
According to a report from The Baltimore Banner, Baltimore Gas and Electric is asking Maryland regulators to approve an electric rate increase that would take effect Aug. 1 and add about $8 a month to the bill of a typical household.
That filing follows a year in which BGE recorded $578 million in profit, the outlet reported.
On July 2, BGE submitted the proposal to Maryland's Public Service Commission.
BGE says, as reported by The Baltimore Banner, the added revenue is needed "to sustain a safe and reliable system." The company also said that spending more on infrastructure now could help prevent longer-lasting and more frequent blackouts.
The Baltimore Banner noted Maryland ratepayers were already facing utility bills that had risen 17% from a year earlier.
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The Baltimore Banner reported that BGE said it considered alternatives to a rate increase, including keeping rates where they are, but ultimately decided against that, claiming the current rates did not offer a reasonable return for its electric services.
Why does it matter?
The increase would add to costs for households already contending with rising housing, grocery, and cooling bills during the hottest part of summer.
The proposed increase is facing pushback from local officials.
David Lapp, the head of the Maryland Office of People's Counsel, told The Baltimore Banner that the utility is incentivized to spend money as it leads to greater profits.
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Lapp told the outlet the Commission should "carefully review the request to protect ordinary customers from the private corporate interests of BGE and its owner, Exelon."
Emily Scarr, senior advisor at Maryland PIRG, also raised concerns.
"[The] announcement may be the boiling point for Baltimore residents bracing for dangerously high temperatures this holiday weekend, worried about paying to keep their homes cool after a decade of rising BGE bills," she said in a statement, as reported by the Baltimore Banner.
What's being done?
The proposal now goes before state regulators.
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