Maryland’s utility consumer advocate has asked state regulators to reject Baltimore Gas and Electric’s request for a $156.1 million increase in electric distribution rates and instead cut those rates by $43.9 million. The Public Service Commission should reject Baltimore Gas and Electric’s request for a $156.1 million increase to its electric distribution rates and instead reduce rates by $43.9 million, the Office of People’s Counsel said in expert testimony filed this week in BGE’s rate case. The filing sets up a direct clash as the case moves toward evidentiary hearings before the Maryland Public Service Commission.
What BGE is asking for
Baltimore Gas and Electric Company has filed a rate case with the Maryland Public Service Commission, seeking a $156 million electric rate increase based on a return on equity of 10.4 percent. The case was filed 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.
The filing proposes increasing distribution rates for residential electric customers by roughly 17 percent, from 4.9 cents per kilowatt-hour to 5.8 cents per kWh.
BGE is seeking approval from the Maryland Public Service Commission for a $156.1 million increase in electric base rates. If approved, BGE’s proposal would raise the average residential customer’s bill by nearly $100 a year.
BGE had initially sought an increase beginning 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.
Consumer advocate pushes back hard
The Office of People’s Counsel’s filing argues the Public Service Commission should reject Baltimore Gas and Electric’s request for a $156.1 million increase to its electric distribution rates and instead reduce rates by $43.9 million.
The office’s analysis also points to the cumulative scale of BGE’s rate growth over more than a decade.
The report says BGE’s electric distribution rates alone would increase by about 17%. If approved, BGE’s electric distribution rates would have increased 58 percent since 2020 and 129 percent since Chicago-based Exelon acquired BGE in 2012, significantly outpacing inflation, Maryland People’s Counsel David S. Lapp said.
The advocacy group is also targeting a separate piece of the filing: a proposed prepaid billing option called FlexPay. OPC’s expert warns that FlexPay is not an affordability program but rather a billing model that is premised on rapid, remote power disconnections for families who run out of funds.
Maryland People’s Counsel David S. Lapp said BGE’s FlexPay proposal would have Maryland’s most vulnerable citizens give up crucial consumer protections in exchange for the promise of short-term benefits, warning that the rapid shutoffs that are central to this program threaten the health and safety of participants, many of whom would ultimately end up paying more for service.
Last month, OPC moved to strike or dismiss the FlexPay program from the rate case, arguing that it was a major policy proposal that should be considered in a separate proceeding with more time to evaluate the proposal and consider necessary changes to current regulations, though the proposal remains part of the consolidated case, and the Office of People’s Counsel filed its testimony against FlexPay the same week it filed its broader rate testimony.
What happens next
The PSC is expected to issue an order on BGE’s rate request in early 2027, and BGE says it will launch FlexPay within 17 to 20 months of approval.
Before that, Maryland regulators are giving the public a direct say.
The virtual hearings begin at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26, Nov. 4 and Nov. 18. Written comments are due Dec. 23 and should reference Case No. 9888. The Nov. 18 hearing will be held in the Frank O. Heintz Hearing Room, William Donald Schaefer Tower, in Baltimore, after the PSC changed the format of this hearing from virtual to in-person at the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel’s request to ensure customers have an opportunity to comment.
Written comments may be submitted through the Commission’s public comment portal, referencing Case No. 9888.
Part of a broader pattern
The dispute is unfolding against a backdrop of record utility rate activity nationwide. Regulators across the country, including those who approved New Jersey’s JCP&L rate hike, are fielding an unprecedented wave of filings tied to grid upgrades and reliability spending, a dynamic also visible in the surge of EV charging rate disputes utilities are navigating as demand patterns shift.
BGE’s case stands out for the scale of advocate pushback, with the Office of People’s Counsel not merely opposing an increase but asking for an outright rate cut.
For now, Maryland households keep paying existing rates while the case proceeds. Whatever the commission decides will also shape how other states handle the growing friction between utility infrastructure spending and residential affordability, an issue already playing out in rate fights from Wisconsin to North Carolina.
