Maryland consumer watchdog calls for investigation into BGE's stalled Baltimore Peninsula project

The Maryland Office of the People's Counsel (OPC) is calling for an investigation into Baltimore Gas and Electric's (BGE) stalled expansion plans on the Baltimore Peninsula. 

The consumer watchdog group is warning that in the coming decades, residents could face higher utility bills if the project fails to attract more commercial businesses. 

The OPC filed a petition asking Maryland's Public Service Commission (PSC) to require BGE to provide more information about its plans for the project. The petition also questions who will foot the bill if the plans are carried out. 

A spokesperson for BGE explained that the projects will not go into rate base until they are up and running. 

BGE's Baltimore Peninsula expansion project 

In 2016, BGE planned the $500 million transmission and distribution infrastructure expansion project on the Baltimore Peninsula. 

"In addition to expanding grid capacity to support local reliability as well as economic growth, these projects will ensure electric service for customers throughout South Baltimore and help lay the foundation for a more electrified future. Above all, these investments are the right thing to do for our customers, the City of Baltimore and the state of Maryland," BGE said in a statement. 

The OPC petition comes amid concerns from residents and leaders about the rising cost of energy bills. 

"Customers face paying billions of dollars in their utility bills over the coming decades for all the costs related to BGE's Baltimore Peninsula investment plans," said OPC's David Lapp. "But BGE based its plans on development that is not happening as anticipated, and BGE has not identified any other customer growth to justify its level of spending."

According to the OPC, BGE initially planned the massive project based on Under Armour's 2016 plans to redevelop the Baltimore Peninsula area. 

On Wednesday, the watchdog group said that about one-tenth of the project has been completed in the last 10 years, and nearly half of the retail and office spaces remain vacant. Recently, a development company exited the project. 

The OPC claims that billions of dollars for BGE's infrastructure spending will eventually impact residential customers, adding to already high utility bills. The group said BGE's project will "evade cost-effectiveness reviews" without action from the Public Service Commission. 

"Customers deserve an investigation to understand the scale and scope of the work and how much these investments will add to their distribution and supply rates," OPC said. 

On Friday, March 6, a State Senate committee will hold an oversight hearing to ask Maryland utilities how many supplemental projects are in progress and how much they could cost taxpayers. 

BGE responds 

BGE emphasized Wednesday that its projects will improve utility reliability for customers in the south of the city, beyond the Baltimore Peninsula area.

"Baltimore's future is bright, and its residents deserve growing access to jobs and opportunity," a spokesperson for the company said. "However, economic growth cannot happen without the assurance that essential services - energy being one of them - will be available to all customers, new and existing, when our residents and businesses need to turn on the lights, and that's why BGE's responsibility to serve customers includes ensuring reliability is maintained for everyone when significant new load is expected on the system. Transmission investments in South Baltimore are a key part of this work."

The projects currently serve nearly tens of thousands of customers, which will increase as development continues, the company said.