Consumer Energy Costs Skyrocket Under O’Malley-Brown Administration

ANNAPOLIS — Change Maryland released today a report card that shows consumer energy costs skyrocketing under the O’Malley-Brown Administration. The release of the report card comes on the heels of a state announcement Friday that the Public Service Commission (PSC) approved the second rate increase this year requested by Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE), as well as an increased monthly service surcharge.

"Yet another rate increase for working Maryland families is unacceptable," said Change Maryland Chairman, Larry Hogan. "The responsibility for which falls directly in the lap of Governor O’Malley, who was elected governor on a promise to all Marylanders to keep electricity and heat affordable during his tenure."

Change Maryland’s study attributes the dramatic increase in costs to a misguided policy which forces energy companies to meet quotas while also allowing these companies to pass unnecessary costs on to consumers. It also attributes higher costs to a general lack of oversight and accountability within the PSC.

The group’s findings are in stark contrast to the past campaign promises made by O'Malley. He ran for governor on the promise of "taking on BGE to stop the rate hikes," giving us a “detailed plan to make energy more affordable," and appointing "competent, qualified, professional regulators," to the Public Service Commission. Change Maryland has graded the governor and his administration on keeping those promises, and determined they have failed across the board.

"O’Malley certainly deserves an F," said Change Maryland Chairman Larry Hogan. "It’s seven years later; the rate hikes happened, and we’re still waiting for that detailed plan. Just as he campaigned against fees and taxes and then dramatically increased them, O’Malley ran on lower energy prices but then pushed an agenda which forced them to increase year over year."

According to the United States Energy Information Agency, the average per kilowatt-hour rate for residential electricity in Maryland before Governor O’Malley took office was 9.71 cents. As of August 2013 (date for the most current available data), the average per kilowatt-hour electricity rate is 13.89 cents, an increase of 43%. Furthermore, the latest rate increase approved on behalf of BGE is the fourth increase in three years that has Marylanders digging even deeper into their pockets.

"We have discovered that this administration’s energy policy has been more tilting at windmills than actually pursuing a real policy that keeps utility rates low for consumers," charged Hogan. "The fact of the matter is that Martin O’Malley is more concerned about checking off all the boxes for his next job than he is about the prices working families pay for electricity and heat."

Despite lofty promises, it seems the O’Malley-Brown Administration has done everything possible to increase the cost of energy in Maryland. Change Maryland has documented:

● The rapid increase in residential electricity rates;

● O’Malley’s EmPower Maryland scheme that allowed utilities to charge customers for power they didn’t use during outages;

● O’Malley’s handpicked PSC Commissioners who dropped the ball on utility reliability standards;

● O’Malley’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which hasn’t increased renewable energy generation, in fact it has decreased;

● O’Malley’s RPS and RGGI programs, that allow Wall Street firms and banks to speculate in Marylanders’ utility bills.

"It’s clear that Governor O’Malley’s campaign promises come with an expiration date stamped: inauguration day," Hogan concluded.