By Baltimore Gas and Electric
BGE announced the launch of a public education campaign designed to help Maryland customers better understand why energy bills are rising. The campaign, which uses non-recoverable funds and is at no cost to customers, explains options for how utilities can support customers while affordability and reliability challenges intensify.
The education campaign focuses on explaining:
-How Maryland’s energy system works
-What is driving higher costs
-Why reliability concerns are increasing, particularly during periods of peak demand
-Possible solutions to offer customers relief
Maryland is facing a growing energy crisis. Energy demand is increasing rapidly, while new in-state generation has not kept pace. This issue is having two detrimental impacts on customers: rising energy bills, and the threat of power blackouts and brownouts.
Increasing customer bills
Maryland relies heavily on power supply produced by a small group of private power plant companies, with costs passed directly from the power plant owners to customers on their energy bills, with no benefit to your utility.
On an average day, roughly 40 percent of Maryland’s energy comes from out-of-state power plants. During extremely hot and cold periods up to 70 percent of Maryland’s power is produced outside the state. This leaves customers vulnerable to additional energy costs set outside the state.
Risk of power loss
According to the energy grid operator PJM, increasing load on the system from data centers and electrification is driving supply shortfalls that increase the risk of brownouts or blackouts as early as 2027 if additional resources are not brought online.
The solution
The education campaign provides context on how Maryland’s policies on energy differ from neighboring states. The campaign calls for adding more power to the grid – an all-of-the-above approach to power options to quickly increase supply.
Unlike Virginia and other states in the region, Maryland law restricts public utilities from building energy generation, limiting the tools available to address power supply shortages and rising costs—even as demand continues to grow.
The goal of the education effort is to ensure customers have a clear understanding of:
What’s driving higher energy costs, including the role of power supply markets and private power plant companies; Why reliability risks are increasing during periods of peak demand; and
How increasing in-state power supply, combined with public oversight and accountability, can help stabilize prices over time.
“The purpose of this campaign is education,” said Exelon President and CEO Calvin Butler. “Marylanders deserve clear, honest information about why energy costs are rising and which parts of the system are within the state’s control. Informed conversations lead to better decisions—and families can’t afford confusion as this challenge grows.”
“Our customers are at the center of every decision we make,” said BGE President and CEO Tamla Olivier. “They deserve transparency about what’s driving their bills and what solutions are actually available to protect their families. This campaign is about giving Marylanders the facts – plainly, directly and without spin – so they can advocate for an energy system that puts their needs first. We’re committed to doing everything in our power to keep service reliable and affordable, and that starts with honest information.”
In Maryland, public utilities are responsible for delivering energy safely and reliably, which means maintaining poles, wires and substations and restoring power after storms. A large portion of our customers’ bill reflects power supply costs, which are set by private power plant companies and passed through to customers without markup by BGE.
BGE’s education campaign is intended to support constructive, fact-based discussion among customers, community leaders and policymakers about how Maryland can address affordability and reliability challenges in the months and years ahead.
We know the system is broken. Now it’s time to change the rules – and put customers first.
To learn more about the campaign and access educational resources on Maryland’s energy system, visit bge.com/energycosts. The campaign’s launch advertisement can be viewed here.