Peco

A deal for Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. to buy electricity from a neighboring utility is so good for ratepayers that BGE should consider pushing up the implementation date from 1997 to next year, according to the Office of the People's Counsel, the state agency that represents ratepayers."

In an action that could cut electric costs by 13 percent for 35,000 northeastern Maryland residents, PECO Energy Co. of Philadelphia has agreed to sell its Maryland Conowingo Power Co. to Delmarva Power & Light Co., which already supplies electricity to the Eastern Shore.Under the proposal, which must be approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission, Delmarva will pay $150 million for the distribution system that provides electricity to Cecil County and parts of Harford County. The sale does not include the Conowingo Hydro-Electric Station on the Susquehanna River, which is owned by a PECO Energy subsidiary.

Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.'s selection of an outside power supplier through competitive bidding -- the first time in its history -- marks a step into the brave new world of price competition among energy producers.But the step is not a bold one: the Public Service Commission had ordered BG&E to seek bids for the 140 megawatts of power due on line in 1997. And the winner is no small, independent newcomer but an old-line utility company with the highest rates in Maryland: PECO Energy Corp.

In a sign of the changing utility industry, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. announced yesterday that it has selected neighboring utility company PECO Energy Co. of Philadelphia to provide it with 140 megawatts for the next 25 years.The award marks the first time in BG&E's 178-year history that it has selected a power source through competitive bidding rather than by building the plant itself or negotiating an arrangement with another company.It also is a harbinger of the new utility market, in which utilities and independent power producers will be competing fiercely to provide the cheapest electricity.

Facing the possibility of its Maryland operation being forced to buy electricity from other, lower-priced utilities, Philadelphia-based PECO Energy Co. said yesterday that it was exploring whether to sell its Conowingo Power Co. operation in Cecil County.PECO, formerly known as Philadelphia Electric Co., said it retained Morgan Stanley & Co., the New York investment banking firm, to test the market for a possible sale of Conowingo.But the utility company said a sale of Conowingo Power (COPCO)