Maryland Public Service Commission Approves Partial BGE Gas Rate Increase

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Maryland Public Service Commission announced Friday it has denied part of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company's request to increase gas distribution rates by nearly $85 million.

Instead, the Commission approved a revenue requirement of $64.9 million.

The amount includes $21.7 million currently being recovered through a surcharge on customer bills through the infrastructure improvement program known as STRIDE.

BGE delivers natural gas to 650,000 customers in central Maryland.

The Commission also had told BGE to refund $1.7 million to customers as a result of excess taxes recovered in January 2018.

The payback must happen as a one-time bill credit within 60 days of the order.

The decision is expected to see average monthly gas bills increase by $5.40 per month.

The fixed monthly charge portion of a residential customer's bill will go up to $14.

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