Baltimore Gas

The woman who says she represents North American Power is not telling the truth about the benefits of buying electricity from her company. "You can save up to 10, 15, 20 percent of your bill, depending on your usage," she says in a telemarketing call to my house. But the rate she eventually quotes is only about 7 percent less than the standard price offered by Baltimore Gas & Electric — something the average customer would have no way of knowing. And of course the percentage savings won't vary even if my "usage" goes up to that of a steel mill.

A theft this month of 311 gallons of gasoline from a station in Baltimore is one in a series of similar incidents, according to the station's owner, who says people have been disabling pumps and allowing friends and relatives to fill their tanks for free Mehdi Rezakhan, who owns BP stations in Remington and East Baltimore, said each businesses has been hit once, and stations owned by friends have been taken several times, one for 1,800 gallons of...

Editor: The Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission would like to thank Ms. Bryna Zumer for her articles in The Aegis newspaper and The Record newspaper of Aug. 5, relating the commission's concern with the Baltimore Gas and Electric company and the installation of exposed gas lines and outdoor gas meters in the Havre de Grace historic district. Apparently, there is some misinformation circulating. The commission was initially approached by Bernie Hilditch, BGE gas design, in a letter dated Dec. 28, 2009 that BGE wold be replacing the gas services to properties located along South Union Avenue from Girard Street to Bourbon Street, and Bourbon Street to Market Street.

Gov. Martin O'Malley is pushing state energy regulators to consider renewable energy resources and to allow utilities to own plants again in their efforts to seek potential new power generation at cost-controlled prices. To prevent potential blackouts and reduce Maryland's reliance on out-of-state electricity, the Public Service Commission last month ordered the state's utilities, including Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., to seek proposals for companies that would build natural gas plants in return for guaranteed power purchases by the utilities.

Double-punched by nuclear repair costs and a weakening real estate market, Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.'s profits fell by more than $14 million, or one-third of last year's level, in the last three months of 1990, the company reported yesterday.For the year, BG&E reported its earnings fell to $213 million, down $63 million, or 23 percent, from 1989's level.Warm weather and lower prices cut natural gas sales, leaving the total revenues for the quarter down slightly, the company said. For the year, revenues grew $155 million, or 7.7 percent, to more than $2.1 billion.

Lewis Addison Beck, a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. lawyer who loved the sea and ships, died of heart failure March 23 at the Rodgers Forge home of a goddaughter. The former Roland Park resident was 96. Born in Baltimore, Mr. Beck lived in the same Victorian-era home on Oakdale Road from 1912 until 2002, when he moved to Roland Park Place. Since last year, he had lived with Elizabeth B.G. Renwick, a goddaughter. Mr. Beck went to sea at age 13 when he signed on a ship for a voyage from Baltimore to Cuba.

Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., accustomed to raking in checks each month as customers pay utility bills, may soon be handing out checks instead. And the payments probably can't come soon enough for the recipients - 25 homeowners in Northeast Baltimore whose electrical appliances were damaged or destroyed July 17 as workers installed a utility pole in the 5000 block of Crosswood Ave. "As we were working to replace the pole that needed to be replaced, another...

Roy E. Braly, a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. engineer and decorated World War II bomber pilot, died Sunday of complications from an infection at the Augsburg Lutheran Home and Village in Arbutus. He was 88. Mr. Braly, the son of an airport owner, was born and raised in Spring Lake, N.J. He was a graduate of Asbury Park High School in New Jersey. His interest in flying began when he was a youngster. "One time, he flew with Amelia Earhart from his father's airport to see the arrival of the Hindenburg at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station," said his wife of 12 years, the former Jeanne Macon.

Salary: $24/hour Age: 44 Years on the job: 2 1/2 How she got started: : Kim Allen grew up traveling with her mother, who served in the Air Force. She said the experience of living in places like Japan, Germany and throughout the United States has helped with her career in customer service. Allen has worked as a call center representative for the past several years. She was laid off from her most recent job at the call center of a local fitness center and applied to various companies, ultimately accepting BGE's offer.

1 Old Columbia Pike will be closed occasionally because of daily drilling by Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. Detour signs will be in place.

Editor: The Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission would like to thank Ms. Bryna Zumer for her articles in The Aegis newspaper and The Record newspaper of Aug. 5, relating the commission's concern with the Baltimore Gas and Electric company and the installation of exposed gas lines and outdoor gas meters in the Havre de Grace historic district. Apparently, there is some misinformation circulating. The commission was initially approached by Bernie Hilditch, BGE gas design, in a letter dated Dec. 28, 2009 that BGE wold be replacing the gas services to properties located along South Union Avenue from Girard Street to Bourbon Street, and Bourbon Street to Market Street.

Samuel A. Rittenhouse, an electrical engineer who had been general manager of engineering for Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., died Aug. 8 of renal failure at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The longtime Blakehurst retirement community resident was 93. Mr. Rittenhouse was born in Baltimore and raised on Calvert Street. After graduating from Polytechnic Institute in 1934, he earned an electrical engineering degree in 1937 from the Johns Hopkins University. During World War II, he served with the Army in the Pacific.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler is investigating a Rockville gasoline distributor after prices at the pump jumped 25 cents overnight last week, he said Monday. The inquiry takes place as Senate Democrats prepare a vote on legislation that would curb federal tax subsidies to the largest oil companies. Gansler said Empire Petroleum Holdings, which serves gas stations in Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties, has cooperated with his investigation, which he said he launched in response to a consumer complaint.

ExxonMobil Corp. lawyers presented their first witnesses Monday in Baltimore County Circuit Court, opening their defense in a lengthy jury trial after an underground gasoline leak in 2006 - one of the most serious in Maryland's history. Two witnesses - an ExxonMobil territory manager and the then-president of the Greater Jacksonville Association - gave their accounts of the day they learned of the leak of about 25,000 gallons of regular unleaded gasoline and the weeks after, as fear spread through the Jacksonville community of about 4,000 households in northern Baltimore County.About 150 plaintiffs represented by the Peter G. Angelos law firm are suing ExxonMobil for compensatory and punitive damages in a trial that began in January.

A 45-year-old man was stabbed in the neck and killed Thursday afternoon after getting into an argument at a busy bus stop at North and Greenmount avenues. The victim, who has not been identified, was waiting for the bus before 1 p.m. when he got into an argument with a young woman, said Detective Donny Moses, a police spokesman. The argument escalated, and a male companion of the woman began fighting with the victim, he said. He was stabbed in the neck and ended up across the street at a Rite Aid drugstore.

After months of wrangling and regulatory debate, "smart meters" are coming to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers. That much is certain, thanks to the utility's decision today to accept the terms imposed on the program by the Maryland Public Service Commission's recent order. That's good news for all involved. The Constellation Energy subsidiary stands to reduce its costs considerably. BGE customers are expected to save money on their monthly bills (even those who don't choose to conserve)

POLICE LOG* Ellicott City: 5100 block of Ilchester Road: A large quantity of copper wire was reported stolen from a Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. substation Tuesday, police said.

The Baltimore Gas and Electric Association announces with deep regret the death of retired employee BERNARD J. BLAIR, Retail Operations Department, and extends deepest sympathy to his family.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. went back to the drawing board on smart meters and recently submitted a revised proposal to the Maryland Public Service Commission. The basics of what BGE wants to do haven't changed much, but now it's up to the PSC to allow the program to move forward — or put the long-term interests of customers at risk. We've said it before and now we'll say it again: Maryland needs to get on board the smart grid movement to ensure affordable and reliable energy service in the future.