State utility regulators complained yesterday when Constellation Energy Group executives didn't attend a hearing to discuss disputed terms of a 1999 agreement to deregulate the power industry, continuing an escalating feud over rising electricity rates.
The Public Service Commission called the hearing to give Constellation subsidiary Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. a chance to rebut the panel's report that claims ratepayers took on potentially billions of dollars in costs in exchange for little benefit in the 1999 settlement.
Company executives sharply criticized the report, saying its adversarial tone has destabilized the state's power market by injecting politics into regulatory matters.
Commission members invited Constellation to attend the hearing if it could help BGE answer regulators' questions. But the order calling the hearing did not specify that Constellation lawyers should appear, since the company is outside the commission's reach as an unregulated entity.
The distinction did little to assuage commissioners, who repeatedly expressed frustration that a BGE attorney was unable to address concerns raised in the report.
"I can't help notice that it wasn't BGE but it was Constellation Energy that put out the press releases talking about the errors and omissions and flaws, etc. regarding our report, and they're not here," said Steven B. Larsen, PSC chairman, in an exchange with BGE's outside counsel.
Constellation said it was blindsided by the criticism, arguing that "at no point" was the company asked to appear.
"We complied fully with what was asked of us and any characterization to the contrary is simply not true," said Rob Gould, a company spokesman.
Deborah E. Jennings, who represented BGE at the hearing, said the company would pass the commission's questions along to Constellation.
The dispute centers on a pair of critical PSC reports that conclude the 1999 deregulation settlement was lopsided in favor of Constellation at the expense of ratepayers.
The company calls the report "revisionist history" and puts at risk its commitment to invest billions of dollars in energy infrastructure in Maryland.
The feud culminated last week with Constellation saying it will sue Maryland to recover $386 million in credits it was forced to give utility customers as part of 2006 legislation to soften a 72 percent BGE rate increase.
