Latest news with #BGE
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
BGE to shift supply costs to lower-usage months, reducing peak season bills
The Maryland Public Service Commission issued an order seeking to alleviate high energy bills for customers. The order requires BGE to shift recovery of some supply costs to lower-usage months over a six-month period. It means customers will pay less supply costs during the winter and summer, a time when bills are typically higher. However, they'll see an increase in the fall and spring when bills are lower. The commission said the order will benefit customers by "flattening costs and help[ing] mitigate excessively high electricity bills during peak months." The commission originally considered this idea during an April meeting, after which the Commission requested and received proposals to spread costs over four-, six-, and twenty-four-month intervals. Commission Chair Frederick Hoover said in a statement, "The Commission took these actions to mitigate the impacts felt by customers as a result of higher-than-expected energy costs, coupled with potential high usage in the coming months." In response, BGE wrote in a statement: "The Commission has decided to shift the recovery of some supply costs caused by last summer's PJM Capacity Auction results to lower-usage months over a six-month period. We will continue working with the Commission and parties to mitigate the impact of higher energy costs for our customers. In accordance with the PSC's order, adjusted residential electric supply rates will go into effect for usage starting June 1." The commission adds that they support the Maryland Office of People's Counsel and several other PJM state consumer advocates in a complaint against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The complaint challenges high wholesale capacity prices, arguing that PJM's most recent capacity auction will impose unjust and unreasonable charges on ratepayers. Electricity prices increase on June 1 BGE said the increase in electricity prices is the result of an unexpected spike in capacity auction prices and the Talen Energy reliability-must-run (RMR) fee. A capacity market auction is a competitive bidding process where power companies promise to make their electricity generation available in the future. "Generally, Maryland has an acute imbalance between electricity supply and demand from customers," said BGE Spokesperson Nick Alexopulos. He said customers are paying to keep some power plants, set to retire, online. "Customers have to pay the owner of those power plants, Talen Energy, a certain fee called the reliability-must-run," Alexopulos said. "They're going to have to pay that every month until the power plants retire." What is the Talen Energy RMR fee? The Talen Energy RMR fee refers to the fixed payments made to Talen Energy for continuing to operate its Brandon Shores and H.A. Wagner power plants in Maryland, beyond their planned retirement dates. PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, pays a fee of $312 per megawatt per day for the Brandon Shores plant, amounting to approximately $145 million annually, along with a $5 million performance incentive. For the H.A. Wagner plant, PJM pays a fee of $137 per megawatt per day, which totals about $35 million per year, plus a $2.5 million performance incentive. The details are outlined in a settlement agreement reached in January 2025.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Power outages reported across DC, Maryland, Virginia following storms
WASHINGTON () — Thousands of people were without power across the region early Saturday after storms blew through the area Friday night. Friday evening, and officials had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Anne Arundel, Charles, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties until 7:30 p.m. , with many areas seeing severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings. Following the storms, power outages began popping up in areas across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, with the most outages reported in Virginia. As of 10:30 a.m., 4,846 customers were without power across Virginia, with many of the outages concentrated in , according to from Dominion Energy. FORECAST: A refreshing shift in the weather this week An indicated that 685 customers, largely in the Baltimore area, were without power as of 10:42 a.m. The lowest number of outages were reported by Pepco, with 37 customers experiencing outages closer to D.C. during the same time frame. DC News Now reached out to Dominion Energy for more information regarding the outages and restoration efforts, including if they are largely believed to have been caused by the storms. Residents can report power outages to their respective utility companies, listed below: Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) 1-877-778-2222 First Energy (Potomac Edison) 1-888-544-4877 Pepco 1-877-737-2662 Dominion Energy 1-888-333-4465 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
BGE customers can expect an electricity price increase on June 1. Here's why.
BGE customers will see another significant increase in the price of electricity starting June 1. The increase comes amid frustrations from BGE customers who have been grappling with high energy costs throughout the year. Why will electricity costs go up on June 1? According to BGE, the increase is a result of an unexpected spike in capacity auction prices, and the Talen Energy reliability-must-run (RMR) fee. What are capacity auction prices? A capacity market auction is a competitive bidding process where power companies promise to make their electricity generation available in the future. Last week, legislators criticized BGE, saying that the company was responsible for an energy supply undercount at the most recent auction, causing the total cost of electricity across the PJM region to go from $2.2 billion to $14.7 billion. BGE said Tuesday that the increase was not due to the company raising its distribution rate, but an increase in the price of "electricity itself". "It's like when gas prices go up—you're paying more for the gas you use, not more to the gas station for delivering it," a spokesperson for BGE said. What is the Talen Energy RMR fee? The Talen Energy RMR fee refers to the fixed payments made to Talen Energy for continuing to operate its Brandon Shores and H.A. Wagner power plants in Maryland, beyond their planned retirement dates. PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator a fee of $312 per megawatt per day for the Brandon Shores plant, amounting to approximately $145 million annually, along with a $5 million performance incentive. For the H.A. Wagner plant, PJM pays a fee of $137 per megawatt per day, which totals about $35 million per year, plus a $2.5 million performance incentive. The details are outlined in a settlement agreement reached in January 2025. Maryland struggles with ongoing energy rate increases BGE raised rates on January 1, increasing the average residential gas bill by 9% and electric bill by 7%. Some customers saw even larger jumps, with winter bills climbing by more than $200. The utility cited several reasons for the hikes, including higher distribution costs regulated by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), a 30% rise in natural gas prices over the past year, and increased spending on energy efficiency programs mandated by the state. BGE also pointed to major investments in gas infrastructure upgrades. Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen has raised questions about the company's long-term plans. Earlier this month, Cohen called for transparency around BGE's proposed multi-year rate increases for 2026. In 2023, the PSC approved BGE's multi-year delivery rate increases, enabling the company to raise rates by approximately $408 million over three years for both gas and electric services.
CBS News
25-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
BGE offering free home energy checkups to help consumers save before summer heat
BGE is offering free home energy checkups to help consumers save before the summer heat BGE is offering free home energy checkups to help consumers save before the summer heat BGE is offering free home energy checkups to help consumers save before the summer heat Summer's scorching weather is right around the corner and experts say now is the time to start thinking about how to save energy to lower your energy bill. Thankfully, you don't have to do the guesswork on your own. A home check-up Lexi Miller's home is getting a very important check-up— a Quick Home Energy Checkup (QHEC) . "We also have an older home, and we have a couple of things that are logistical things that we need answers to in order to upgrade," explained Baltimore homeowner Lexi Miller. "A lot of those causes of high energy use are hidden behind walls, behind attics," explained Ben Schott, a senior energy efficiency program manager for BGE. "We're out here, we're going to take a look around and see if we can make any recommendations on ways to save energy and make the house a little more comfortable." All BGE customers are eligible for this service for FREE through the state's EmPOWER Maryland program. "It is hard to heat when it's cool out," Schott explained. "We're all looking for opportunities to save a little bit on our bills. We're looking for opportunities to fix our homes up where we can." Homeowners like Miller can learn energy saving tips — right in the comfort of their own home. A certified checkup professional will do a walkthrough inspection of your home to make energy-saving recommendations. "Maybe pop our head up in the attic, and we'll take a look and see how much insulation is up there. And if there's opportunities to seal and insulate," said Schott. From top – to bottom, your entire home is given the check- up it deserves. "We kind of point you in the right direction, see if there's certain small, easy things you can do to save energy, or maybe even if there's bigger opportunities to make improvements to the homes," said Schott. "We may not be able to do every little thing, but it's some of the bigger things that might be really impactful to our savings and also to the continuation of having our in our lovely home," said Miller. You can find more info on the QHEC here:
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Maryland legislators ask federal regulators to stop impending energy rate hikes
Lawmakers, commissioners, ask feds to step in as BGE bills rise Lawmakers, commissioners, ask feds to step in as BGE bills rise Lawmakers, commissioners, ask feds to step in as BGE bills rise Maryland officials are pushing federal regulators to step in as Baltimore Gas and Electric customers face a $16 monthly bill increase starting June 1. In a letter, the Maryland General Assembly said it was writing to share "grave concerns" about PJM Interconnection is the region's power grid operator. PJM operates the power grid for 13 states including Maryland. The legislators argue that the cost increases slated to take place June 1 are a result of issues in PJM's most recent capacity market auction and inflated payments to Talen Energy for keeping its Maryland plants online. Most notably, they argue that the auction failed to include two active power plants in the Baltimore area, owned by Talen Energy, as part of the available electricity supply. A capacity market auction is a competitive bidding process where power companies promise to make their electricity generation available in the future. According to the legislators, the supply was undercounted - making it seem like less electricity was available, and causing the total cost of electricity across the PJM region to from $2.2 billion to $14.7 billion. "The Commission must act expeditiously to acknowledge and remedy the problems with last summer's auction that render the results unjust and unreasonable," the legislators wrote. Maryland continues push back against energy rate hikes BGE implemented a rate hike on January 1, 2025, that increased the average gas bill by 9% and electric bill by 7%. Many customers reported much larger spikes, with some seeing bill increase more than $200 during winter months. BGE attributes the increases to several factors, including distribution costs regulated by the PSC, a sharp 30% year-over-year rise in natural gas prices, increased costs for the state-mandated "Empower Maryland" energy efficiency program, and massive spending on gas infrastructure upgrades. Multi-year rate hike plan Earlier this month, Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen called for transparency over decisions made on the future of BGE's proposed multi-year rate hikes for 2026. In a letter, Cohen said Calvin Butler, CEO of BGE's parent company Exelon, stated that they are anticipating a decision on the "lessons learned" about BGE's rate hikes by the end of the second quarter. If the timeline is accurate, Cohen said he remained extremely concerned that Exelon has access to sensitive information that is not shared with the public, and that the PSC should investigate how the timeline was potentially shared outside the commission and its staff. The Maryland Public Service Commission approved BGE's multi-year delivery rate hikes in 2023, authorizing a total increase of just under $408 million over three years for both gas and electric services.
