Baltimore Gas and Electric filed a $156.1 million electric rate case with the Maryland Public Service Commission on July 6, asking regulators to approve an average increase of $8 per month on the electric bills of the utility’s 1.3 million residential customers across the state.
What BGE is requesting and why
BGE is seeking the increase based on a proposed Return on Equity of 10.4%. The utility says the additional revenue is needed to maintain the integrity of its electrical system and continue providing safe, reliable service to its customers in Maryland.
BGE President and CEO Tamla Olivier said: “Nothing matters more to our customers right now than affordability. We heard clearly that customers are feeling pressure from rising costs across every aspect of their lives. That’s why we delayed this filing, took a hard look at our plans, and reduced investments to only the bare-bones maintenance the system needs.”
The rate case was filed as a “historic test year case,” a new requirement under the Maryland General Assembly’s energy policy overhaul of 2026. Previously, Exelon utilities had been utilizing “forecast test years,” which allow the companies to make a case for what they think they’ll spend in the coming years and adjust rates accordingly, subject to PSC approval.
Regulators slow-walk the timeline
BGE had wanted to raise customers’ electricity rates starting August 1, but state regulators ruled that the proposed rate increase will require months of review and, if ultimately approved, will not take effect until at least January.
The PSC says a decision on BGE’s application is expected in January 2027, and until then, electric rates will remain the same for BGE customers.
Commission Chair Kumar Barve said the focus of the evaluation will be on delivering a decision that is both just and reasonable, while safeguarding the affordability of vital electric services for ratepayers.
Consumer advocates push back
Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel is an independent state agency that represents electric, gas, telecommunications and private water customers in Maryland and has announced plans to challenge the proposal.
Gas delivery rates in Maryland have increased by 246% since 2010, and electric delivery rates have increased by 92%, according to the Maryland Public Interest Research Group.
In BGE’s most recent electric distribution rate case, the PSC approved a Return on Equity of 9.5%, lower than the company’s requested 10.4%. Consumer advocates are likely to cite that precedent as the new proceeding advances.
Context: a series of rate actions
The current filing follows the final year of BGE’s second multi-year rate plan, approved by the PSC in 2023, under which customer bills increased effective with usage beginning January 1, 2026. The new case effectively opens a third round of rate negotiations for the utility.
The filing also includes a proposed BGE FlexPay program that would allow eligible customers to prepay their anticipated energy use. The rate case does not include a utility bill increase for gas customers.
The BGE proceeding is one of several major electric rate cases moving through state commissions this summer as utilities across the country argue that years of grid investment require cost recovery. The pressure on distribution infrastructure is itself tied to broader grid capacity demands, including the load surge pushing five-year peak forecasts to new highs, that regulators are weighing alongside affordability concerns.
The Maryland PSC case, docketed as Case No. 9888 , will proceed through public comment hearings in BGE’s service territory before an evidentiary hearing in Baltimore. A final order is expected no sooner than January 2027.
