Bge

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.

Utility customers who oppose smart meters can defer installation of the new digital, wireless devices until state energy regulators make a final decision on whether ratepayers can opt out of the utility program, the Maryland Public Service Commission said Thursday. The interim decision comes two days after the Public Service Commission heard from dozens of customers who oppose smart meters because of concerns over safety, privacy and security. The state's three largest utilities — Baltimore Gas and Electric, Pepco and Delmarva — are in varying stages of replacing older meters with smart meters, which are intended to provide real-time data and help ratepayers monitor and control energy consumption.

Jonathan Libber likes his analog utility meter just fine. And no amount of debate will convince him that new wireless, digital "smart meters" being installed by Baltimore Gas & Electric and other utilities around the country would help conserve energy, reduce his bill and make service more reliable. "They are a bad idea," said Libber, 59, president of Maryland Smart Meter Awareness, a citizens group opposed to smart meters. "There has been no demonstrated savings for the regulated ratepayer.

Jonathan Libber likes his analog utility meter just fine. And no amount of debate will convince him that new wireless, digital "smart meters" being installed by Baltimore Gas & Electric and other utilities around the country would help conserve energy, reduce his bill and make service more reliable. "They are a bad idea," said Libber, 59, president of Maryland Smart Meter Awareness, a citizens group opposed to smart meters. "There has been no demonstrated savings for the regulated ratepayer.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. will face questioning from state regulators over its response to power outages caused by Hurricane Irene after a chorus of criticism from angry customers and public officials. The Public Service Commission, the state's top energy regulator, said it would hold hearings next month to evaluate the performance of BGE and other utilities in the state in the storm's aftermath. The prolonged outages come as BGE's parent company, Constellation Energy Group, is trying to win regulatory approval of its $7.9 billion sale to Chicago-based Exelon Corp.

Utility customers who oppose smart meters can defer installation of the new digital, wireless devices until state energy regulators make a final decision on whether ratepayers can opt out of the utility program, the Maryland Public Service Commission said Thursday. The interim decision comes two days after the Public Service Commission heard from dozens of customers who oppose smart meters because of concerns over safety, privacy and security. The state's three largest utilities — Baltimore Gas and Electric, Pepco and Delmarva — are in varying stages of replacing older meters with smart meters, which are intended to provide real-time data and help ratepayers monitor and control energy consumption.

The newest batch of electricity alternatives to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s standard product are as confusing as ever and continue to be misleadingly advertised, despite attempts at reform by the Public Service Commission. Lower in the column I'll get into why the PSC should clamp down. But first some advice. Once you cut through the haze, the latest deals are the cheapest since Maryland household electricity was fully deregulated several years ago. One in particular is a good choice, provided you pay attention when the contract expires.

Maryland regulators approved Constellation Energy Group's sale to Chicago-based Exelon Corp. on Friday, setting the stage for Baltimore to lose its last Fortune 500 company to an out-of-state owner. Exelon promptly accepted the terms imposed by the Maryland Public Service Commission, which means the $7.9 billion deal is one huge step closer to completion. The PSC's approval came with several dozen conditions that largely mirrored concessions the companies had previously promised, most recently under a $1 billion settlement with Gov. Martin O'Malley and the state.

Baltimore Gas and Electric's standard electricity price from June through May 2013 is expected to decrease customer bills by $54 on average for the year-long period, state energy regulators announced Monday. The Maryland Public Service Commission last week accepted bids from BGE and other utilities in the state to supply electricity to residential and commercial customers. On the residential side, utilities purchase electricity from wholesale suppliers under a twice-yearly competitive bidding process, which is overseen by the PSC. BGE residential customers can buy BGE's standard utility service or purchase electricity from third-party suppliers.

Have you heard of a smart meter? I hadn't until I received a notice from Baltimore Gas and Electric advising that it will be installing them in Anne Arundel County soon, so I searched for it on the Internet. Wow, there are a bunch of "Stop Smart Meter" groups all over the U.S. Why? A "smart meter" is a wireless electric meter designed to transmit two-way radio communications between your house and BGE so that BGE can track your energy use. What's wrong with that, you ask? The meter emits radiofrequency (RF)

Alvin Turner "Al" Church, a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. surveyor, died Monday of complications from skin cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The longtime Cockeysville resident was 64. The son of Glenn L. Martin Co. workers, Mr. Church was born in Wilkesboro, N.C., and moved with his family to Baltimore in the early 1950s; they settled in 1955 in Catonsville. He was a 1966 graduate of Catonsville High School and attended what was then Catonsville Community College.

After the power failed in an Essex neighborhood earlier this year, BGE officials discovered that someone had been stealing copper wire from the tops of utility poles. Oddly enough, however, they found no marks on the poles indicating that the culprit had climbed roughly 40 feet to reach the wire. Baltimore County police figured they might have their suspect when an officer on patrol in Dundalk spotted an unmarked white Ford van equipped with a bucket lift, and a man alongside the van stripping insulation from copper wire, according to a police report.

Spring is a little showier around here these days, thanks to the efforts of plant specialists at the University of Maryland, College Park.  The staff at UM's Arboretum and Botanical Garden have tracked down and rescued or preserved dozens of patches of an increasingly rare wildflower known as the sundial lupine. The meadow-loving plant with tall clusters of purple flowers has been under siege from mowing, herbicides, invasive plants, deer grazing and development. As with much in nature, the wildflower's decline has affected frosted elfin butterflies, which prefer lupines for food and habitat.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said Tuesday that it planned to test its PeakRewards program on two separate occasions this month. The tests, done ahead of the summer peak demand season, are designed to gauge the program's technical enhancements, as well as its website and other customer communications. The voluntary PeakRewards program eases energy consumption when demand spikes. Customers receive bill credits in return for allowing BGE to periodically turn off their air conditioning when overall power demand is high.

Baltimore Gas and Electric's standard electricity price from June through May 2013 is expected to decrease customer bills by $54 on average for the year-long period, state energy regulators announced Monday. The Maryland Public Service Commission last week accepted bids from BGE and other utilities in the state to supply electricity to residential and commercial customers. On the residential side, utilities purchase electricity from wholesale suppliers under a twice-yearly competitive bidding process, which is overseen by the PSC. BGE residential customers can buy BGE's standard utility service or purchase electricity from third-party suppliers.

Gregory William Gildark, a retired police officer and heavy equipment operator, died of an aortic rupture April 23 at his Mount Jackson, Va., home. The former Severn resident was 64. Born in Baltimore and raised on West Cross Street in Pigtown, he attended St. Jerome School and was a 1966 Southern High School graduate. He then became a Navy Seabee and served two duty tours in Vietnam. He was awarded the Marine Combat Insignia for "bravery in battle," according to his discharge papers.

This isn't another letter bashing BGE for being slow to restore power after Hurricane Irene, or for my neighborhood losing power every time a nearby bird coughs. I just wish, given the wonders of technology, that BGE would understand that as unhappy as people are without power, the fact that it is so frustratingly difficult to get any useful information from the company only makes things worse. When I am not at home and trying to determine if power at my home has been restored, the online outages map with the different colored circles is really not at all helpful.

As I write out my check to Baltimore Gas & Electric this month, I am struck, once again, by the fact that these payments are processed out of state - in this case, Pennsylvania. Why is a Maryland utility that is a state-regulated monopoly allowed to move all the jobs (and the associated income for the state in property taxes, housing, income taxes, sales taxes, shopping, etc.) that come from payment processing out of the state of Maryland? Their answer is, most probably, that it saves them money, but it doesn't save their customers money.

BGE's 1.1 million residential customers will get a nice surprise in their May bill: a $100 credit on their accounts. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. announced Friday that most customers will receive the credit by the end of May. The ratepayer relief is part of the merger between BGE's parent Constellation Energy Group and Chicago-based Exelon Corp. The two companies agreed to provide the rate credit under an agreement with Maryland energy regulators, which approved the deal in February.

Edgewood Elementary School students were dismissed at 9:30 a.m. Monday. A Harford County Public Schools spokesperson said there was a power outage in the building. "BGE is currently working underground at Edgewood Elementary School to make repairs," Teri Kranefeld, the school system's director of communications, wrote in an e-mail message Monday afternoon. "Restoration time has not yet been determined. " The school on Cedar Drive has about 440 students. Check back with http://www.exploreharford.com for updates.