With energy bills increasing for many, Maryland Delegate Elizabeth Embry, who represents Baltimore City, proposed the Ratepayer Protection Act in a committee hearing Thursday.
“BGE delivery rates have almost tripled in the last 15 years, and people are literally having to choose between heating their homes and buying groceries,” Embry said during the House Economics Matters Committee hearing.
While the weather has been cold, lawmakers also point to recent rate hikes from BGEto fund infrastructure updates.
The proposed legislation would modify the 2013 Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement Plan. STRIDE was meant to encourage gas utilities to replace aging gas pipes in Maryland. The law allows utility companies to charge customers a monthly feeto quickly recoup the cost of certain infrastructure projects.
“This bill is not a repeal of STRIDE. It’s a modest bill and it makes modest changes to the current law to ensure that gas infrastructure work that is billed to our utility customers through the accelerated cost recovery of STRIDE, is actually necessary to ensure safety and uses the most cost-effective tools to do so,” Embry said.
Embry argued the Ratepayer Protection Act would still allow necessary projects to be completed but would require utility companies to provide additional justification for those projects, especially since the project costs are ultimately passed on to the consumer.
“If we continue, you know, business as usual, rates are going to double again in about 10 years,” said David Lapp, with the Office of the People’s Counsel.
However, during the hearing, some lawmakers pushed back, indicating they felt this bill was an attempt to reduce the use of natural gas, especially considering the state’s climate and greenhouse gas reduction goals.
In a statement, a spokesperson from BGE said, “BGE has duty to provide customers with safe and reliable utility service. State and federal policy directs utilities to not only maintain, but improve and upgrade aging natural gas infrastructure to enhance public safety and reduce environmental risks. BGE customers are served by the oldest natural gas pipeline system in the county, and it is in need of upgrading. Legacy natural gas pipeline infrastructure is more prone to leaks, posing safety and environmental risks. Replacing outmoded pipes with modern materials aligns with public policy and is the right thing to do for our customers and the environment. There are many reasons for the increased cost of energy, most of which have nothing to do with BGE. Blaming the increased cost of energy on BGE’s required maintenance of the gas system is misleading and does not address the impact of increased usage nor market forces caused by insufficient in-state generation.”
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