BGE Ordered To Reduce Charge For Opting Out Of Smart Meters

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Maryland's Public Service Commission has ordered BGE to cut in half its monthly fee to customers who opt out of having smart meters installed in their homes or small businesses.

The monthly opt out rate will be reduced to $5.50, from $11, beginning in January, the commission said Tuesday in a news release.

The PSC said it held a hearing earlier this month because about 4 percent of BGE's customers in central Maryland are choosing not to have smart meters installed. The commission said a 1 percent opt-out rate was expected when it set the fees in 2014.

BGE's one-time, initial opt-out charge of $75 is not affected by this order, the PSC says.