.. The intention was good: Maryland power companies would help customers save electricity by providing discounted or free energy-efficient light bulbs.
But consumers have discovered they're paying for the program - whether they use it or not - with a surcharge on every month's utility bills. And only a few stores offer the discount, which means inconvenience - if the consumer bothers to try to find the bulbs at all.
Even the U.S. Postal Service has complained. Post offices in Western Maryland balked when Allegheny Power mailed two compact fluorescent light bulbs to each of its 220,000 Maryland customers - in packages too large for some post offices to handle.
FOR THE RECORD - A text box accompanying an article in yesterday's Sun about utility surcharges paying for energy conservation programs included an incorrect amount for the surcharge levied by Delmarva Power. The correct amount is about 6 cents per month for the typical residential customer.
The Sun regrets the error.
Allegheny ratepayers paid for the bulbs through a mandatory 96 cent monthly surcharge on their bills. Other utilities, including Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., are also tacking a small surcharge onto their customers' bills but working through retailers. BGE uses the money raised to reimburse a handful of retailers, such as Home Depot and Costco, that agree to sell the bulbs at a discount.
"Why should we all pay for a discount we may not be able to use because we can't get there or we may not choose to use?" said Baltimore City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, noting the few participating retailers in the city.
This week, Del. Kevin Kelly, an Allegany County Democrat, is drawing up legislation to ban such programs if the cost is going to be passed on to consumers. And Allegheny Power officials will appear before the Public Service Commission Wednesday to respond to complaints about their program, which was approved by the PSC in September.
"It appears the Public Service Commission is in bed with the utilities to the absolute total disregard of the rate payers," Kelly said.
The power companies and consumer advocates say using the swirly compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of the iconic but inefficient incandescent can reduce an energy bill by at least $42 a year, which more than makes up for the surcharges.
Incentives such as these discounts and free bulbs help reduce demand overall, said Johanna E. Neumann, policy advocate for the Maryland Public Interest Research Group: "Even if you don't participate in the [light bulb] program, you still benefit."
The debate mirrors those taking place across the country, where efforts to cut energy usage - some driven by state law - have had unintended consequences. In California, for example, subsidized light bulbs are turning up on eBay as customers cash in on steep discounts offered in that state, said Mindy Spatt, spokeswoman for The Utility Reform Network in San Francisco.
