BGE pauses service disconnections, waives late fees due to high bills for some in Maryland
BALTIMORE -- BGE said Monday it is pausing service disconnections during February and waiving late payment fees from January 1 due to "unanticipated high bills."
According to BGE, the high bills are due to extreme cold weather, increases in the cost of gas and electric, and an increase in the cost to improve gas and electric systems.
The company also said it will waive the deposit requirement for customers who have had their service disconnected.
BGE's customer service offers programs for those struggling to pay their bills, including payment plans.
Concerns over high BGE bills
The announcement comes after some Baltimore area residents expressed concerns about increases in their bills.
WJZ spoke to some residents who said they saw about a $200 increase in their bills early this year.
Churville resident Laura Kump said her December bill was $274.69, which was pretty standard, but her bill went up to $481 during the following cycle.
In mid-January, a spokesperson for BGE told WJZ that rate increases are to be expected during the first six months of the year as price hikes begin on January 1. Those price hikes should have averaged about $7.77.
"It's not surprising after a month that we saw a lot of cold weather, and generally people are home more because it's the holidays, so they're using more energy, for bills to be higher than in previous months," said BGE spokesperson Nick Alexopolus.
Maryland lawmakers address rate hikes
In response to the increase in utility bills, Maryland lawmakers introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act, a bill that would require gas companies to lower spending on pipelines instead of raising rates for customers.
According to the Office of the People's Counsel (OPC), BGE's gas delivery rates have more than tripled since 2010, and so have their profits.
OPC projects that BGE's monthly winter delivery bill could double by 2035.
The legislation would change the information required for a gas company's plan to replace infrastructure. It would require a gas company to show that they prioritized projects based on cost-effectiveness and risk to the public.
