The Baltimore City Council on Thursday will host a public hearing on recent increases to BGE customers’ bills.
The hearing will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at Baltimore City Hall, located at 100 Holliday St.
“Every day, my colleagues on City Council and I hear from residents who are frustrated and concerned with recent BGE rate increases,” Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen said in a statement. “These rate increases are not only unsustainable in the long term, but are financially catastrophic for many working families and small businesses in the short term. This hearing gives us an opportunity to better understand the causes and impacts of the rate increases and to gather valuable information that can help us deliver meaningful ratepayer relief.”
Baltimore residents and businesses have seen large increases to their gas and electric bills since the Public Service Commission in 2023 approved a multi-year rate increase for BGE for 2024, 2025, and 2026.
The second phase of rate increases were implemented in January 2025. Customers have complained of much higher BGE bills – some hundreds of dollars higher than before the increase.
“The increases that consumers are seeing on their BGE bills are outrageous and not sustainable,” said Councilmember Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer, the council’s Legislative Investigations Chair, in a statement. “Baltimoreans deserve to know how and why this happened, and what can be done to provide real ratepayer relief. The Committee on Legislative Investigations is committed to getting Baltimoreans the answers they deserve, while providing more robust and transparent oversight on behalf of the people of our city.”
Thursday’s hearing is meant to gather information regarding the rate increases from BGE representatives, policy experts, and advocates.
The hearing is open to the public. Community members can provide testimony in person.
The hearing will be livestreamed on CharmTV.
BGE has a slush fund over 1 Billion. Why do rates need to be changed?
Instead of replacing BGE pipes with high speed gas line just repair them . We do not need the capital expense of gas regulators and high speed gas lines. Since the high speed lines have been installed gas links have increase. This was one of the main reasons for installing then to prevent leaks. the opposite is the result more leaks.
Installing “high speed” gas does not inherently prevent gas leaks; the speed of the gas itself is not the primary factor in leak prevention – the integrity of the gas lines and connections is what matters most; therefore, a properly installed low-speed gas system can work just fine and be leak-free if maintained correctly.
Key points to remember:
Leak prevention comes from proper installation:
Inspecting and repairing any damaged or worn pipes, using appropriate fittings, and ensuring all connections are securely sealed are crucial for preventing leaks, regardless of gas speed. This is costing BGE customers higher bills because the PSC approved a rate hike because it is a capital expense.
High-speed gas can create other issues:
While not directly preventing leaks, high-pressure gas can put additional stress on the system, potentially causing problems with older or poorly maintained pipes.
Exelon BGE parent company is showing 23 million in revenue. Why do we need a rate hike?
Also, BGE receive a 30 million grant in 11/24 https://investors.exeloncorp.com/financials-performance/income-statement