BGE Requests Approval to Adjust Rates

Last week, BGE issued a press release announcing that it has filed with the Maryland Public Service Commission for approval to make adjustments to its electric and gas distribution rates. This represents the second such request regarding electric rates in almost 20 years. According to the press release, the adjustments would allow the company to continue to make essential upgrades to its infrastructure for enhanced reliability and safety.

BGE spokesperson Linda Foy noted that “BGE, like many other long-lived utilities and local and state governments across the country, has made significant investments in our infrastructure, including upgrading and maintaining equipment that has been in place for decades.   In fact, we plan to invest approximately $3 billion of capital in our systems over the next five years.”

Foy continued to say that “these rate adjustments apply only to the distribution component of the bill, which represents approximately 30 percent of a customer’s total bill. If approved by the Commission, the proposed rate adjustments would result in an overall increase of 4.4 percent in total electric bills and 6.6 percent in total gas bills.” The distribution portion funds infrastructure such as poles, wires, substations, pipelines and other equipment that deliver energy to customers. It also pays for vegetation management and tree trimming programs which have increased during the past few years from $23.5 million in 2007 to nearly $35 million in 2012.

The supply charge, which represents approximately 70 percent of a customer's total bill, reflects the cost of the electric and gas commodities.  Since customers’ bills are directly related to the amount of energy they use per month, customers can lower their bills by taking advantage of the many energy efficiency programs offered by BGE. Additionally, customers can save money by shopping for a competitive energy supplier offering lower competitive electric and gas commodity prices.  Currently, more than a quarter of our electric customers and nearly 20 percent of our gas customers have chosen to shop with a competitive supplier.

The full press release may be found here: http://www.bge.com/Article%20Documents/2012%20Rate%20Case%20Release%20Final%2007.27.12.pdf