People S Counsel

Responding to citizens who feel legally overwhelmed and outguessed by developers' lawyers, two freshman Howard County councilmen are proposing an independent people's counsel as a way to level the playing field.The idea is to use taxpayer funds to hire a lawyer who would serve as an independent public advocate. Such attorneys often help community groups not versed in the law fight zoning changes that are proposed to allow new developments.A citizens committee appointed this year to suggest ways of updating Howard's General Plan also recommended such a move.

The Office of the People's Counsel yesterday rebutted claims by a coalition of power companies that said this week's deregulation settlement with BGE closes Maryland to competition.Michael J. Travieso, the state-appointed People's Counsel representing consumers, said criticism of the state's energy-deregulation plan by the Mid-Atlantic Power Supply Association is "inaccurate and misleading."On Tuesday, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and at least a dozen parties involved in closed-door talks submitted a proposal to the Public Service Commission (PSC)

BGE's winter shutoffs may threaten its poorer gas customersI commend The Sun for its recent article regarding the increasing number of winter service terminations by Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. ("BGE tightens winter-turnoff policy," Nov. 28)The Office of People's Counsel shares the concerns expressed by low-income advocates about the sharp increase in service terminations since the 1996-1997 winter season.BGE's reduction of bad debt and uncollectible accounts through more aggressive cutoffs is certainly good business practice.

Responding to citizens who feel legally overwhelmed and outguessed by developers' lawyers, two freshman Howard County councilmen are proposing an independent people's counsel as a way to level the playing field.The idea is to use taxpayer funds to hire a lawyer who would serve as an independent public advocate. Such attorneys often help community groups not versed in the law fight zoning changes that are proposed to allow new developments.Baltimore, Harford and Montgomery counties all have a people's counsel -- though Montgomery hasn't hired anyone for the recently funded job.A citizens committee appointed this year to suggest ways of updating Howard's General Plan also recommended such a move.

The Maryland People's Counsel and a consultant for a group of potential competitors to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. sparred yesterday over the impact of a higher "shopping credit" in the second day of electricity-deregulation hearings.Michael J. Travieso, the state-appointed People's Counsel representing consumers, said that a higher credit would lead to higher prices for consumers.But consultant Terry L. Murray, representing the Mid-Atlantic Power Supply Association, which favors the shopping credit, testified that Travieso's contention is "not solidly founded in economic theory."

The state's consumer advocate proposed cuts yesterday in Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s rates during deregulation of Maryland's electric utility industry, but BGE said such cuts are unjustified.In a proposal filed with the state Public Service Commission, the Office of the People's Counsel called for BGE rates to "drop by 10 percent in 2000 and remain stable for the next five years."But BGE stood by its plans to freeze electric rates at year-end 1998 levels until July 2002, when all Marylanders are expected to have a choice of electricity providers.

Bell Atlantic Corp. and the big long-distance phone companies sharply disagree over how to let long-distance firms break into Maryland's local-service market.Yesterday, the parties took their disagreement to the Public Service Commission.This clash of telephone titans is all about market access. Long-distance providers like AT&T Corp. and MCI Communications Corp. want to compete with Bell Atlantic in providing local-calling service.There's just one problem with that: Bell Atlantic owns most of the state's local-service network, and duplicating that network would both inefficient and expensive.

Bowing to pressure from legislators and the People's Counsel, state regulators yesterday delayed until July 2002 historic changes that will open Maryland's monopolistic electric supply system to competition.The Maryland Public Service Commission cited the "numerous complicated issues" involved in deregulating the century-old power system for all state residents and businesses.The PSC had planned to offer choices to consumers statewide by April 2001 in the hope that competition and deregulation would ultimately foster lower energy prices.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. said yesterday that a future rate freeze could be jeopardized if regulators agree with a state watchdog that electricity rates should be slashed now by $110 million a year.The utility, in a filing late yesterday with the state's Public Service Commission, challenged a contention by the Office of People's Counsel that BGE had overcharged customers, and intimated that any rate reduction now could adversely affect pending industry restructuring in Maryland."We don't believe we are overcharging customers," said Bob Fleishman, BGE's general counsel, reiterating a statement the company made earlier this month at the time of the People's Counsel's filing.

The state agency responsible for protecting residential customers' utility rights claims that Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. has been overcharging consumers and has asked regulators to cut electric rates by $110 million.The Office of People's Counsel's action marks the first time in at least five years that the agency has challenged BGE's rates. If successful, the rate decrease would trim a few dollars a month off the average residential electric bill."Our analysis shows that BGE's electric rates are too high and that BGE has been earning more than it should for many months," said Michael J. Travieso, head of the Office of People's Counsel (OPC)

Maryland energy regulators extended hearings Friday on Constellation Energy Group's proposed nuclear joint venture with a French utility, likely delaying yet again a decision on the fate of the deal. Additional hearings are scheduled for Oct. 14, and Oct. 15 if necessary. That means it's unlikely that the Public Service Commission will make a decision by its Oct. 16 deadline, even though the commission has tried to accommodate the companies' concerns over the timeliness of the deal's closing.

Constellation-EDF review essential The Sun's editorial on the proposed Constellation Energy Group-Electricit? de France deal reflects a misunderstanding of the law and the facts ("Separate politics, power," June 14). The Sun chooses to view this legal dispute as a dispute between Gov. Martin O'Malley and Constellation and ignores the fact that other parties are in this case, and they independently came to the same conclusion - that the proposed transaction is subject to regulatory scrutiny under Maryland law. The Office of the People's Counsel, the state of Maryland and the Public Service Commission's technical staff all reviewed the evidence, consulted independent experts and concluded that the proposed Constellation-EDF transaction would result in EDF acquiring the ability to exercise "substantial influence" over Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. If the deal goes through, EDF will have a larger investment in Constellation than all of Constellation's other shareholders put together.

Assembly panel OKs Verizon settlement A House of Delegates committee has unanimously approved a bill directing state regulators to approve an agreement with Verizon about delayed repairs and deregulation of some bundled telephone services. The settlement, negotiated by Verizon, the Maryland Public Service Commission staff and the Office of the People's Counsel, calls for the company to pay $1 million to customers with repair complaints, increase some fees and lower others for regional telephone service, and deregulate some bundled products.

Frank Margolis doesn't think his Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. bill is nearly steep enough. Intent on finding a way to pay the utility more than what he is billed every month, the 70-year-old professor e-mailed me a few weeks ago for help. This is not a request I get every day. Margolis was chatting recently with a colleague who was complaining bitterly about utility bills that topped $400 to $500 a month. Margolis went home to dig out his own June statement - $111. Upon closer examination, Margolis noticed that BGE had failed to charge him at all for the amount of electricity he used.

Paula M. Carmody recently stepped into the role of people's counsel at what may prove a watershed moment for Maryland's residential utility customers. The state's Public Service Commission is in the midst of a sweeping review of electric deregulation rules that critics contend contributed to a 72 percent rate hike for customers of Baltimore Gas & Electric last year. As the state's chief advocate for utility customers, the new people's counsel is charged with pressing the commission to adopt changes that will take the sting out of future utility bills.

Maryland People's Counsel Patricia A. Smith, the state's top advocate for utility customers, left her post yesterday after a three-year tenure that culminated in legislation demanding her firing amid debate over rising electric rates. Under Smith, the Office of the People's Counsel called for changes in electric deregulation laws and pursued an investigation into a 72 percent rate increase for customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. last spring. But the former prosecutor was accused by many lawmakers of not doing enough to protect consumers before and after the rate increase was announced.

Consumer advocates who say electric deregulation should be revamped in the face of rising rates will face off against pro-competition utility officials today in the first of several regulatory hearings to examine the future structure of Maryland's power industry. The Public Service Commission hearings will be the most sweeping probe of the industry since deregulation was passed in 1999, and could lead to changes that will influence consumer bills for decades to come. The examination was first requested by the Maryland Office of the People's Counsel this past spring and subsequently mandated by lawmakers, who passed legislation in June to deal with a 72 percent rate increase for customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. heard hours of testimony yesterday about whether he should veto a General Assembly plan to defer most of BGE's looming 72 percent rate increase for nearly a year, with analysts, experts, community leaders and homeowners arguing both sides in the most visible discussion yet of how large electric bills should be for more than a million utility customers. The unusual public hearing was televised live on Maryland Public Television and broadcast on the Internet by two Baltimore television stations.

Many of those on the front lines of the battle over rising electricity costs say one voice has been noticeably absent from the debate - the state's top consumer advocate, the Office of the People's Counsel. Lawmakers accuse the office and its chief, Patricia A. Smith, of failing to do enough to help BGE's 1.2 million customers who are slated to get hit with a 72 percent rate increase July 1 when six-year rate caps expire. "They need to be the advocates for the people, said Sen. Paula C. Hollinger, a Democrat from Baltimore County, who sponsored a bill this year to remove Smith from her job. "This is the biggest utility issue since I've been in this General Assembly, and they have been completely absent.

It's going up - way up, beginning this summer, by something like 40 percent to 80 percent. There's no way around it. That stems from state electricity deregulation legislation enacted in 1999. You likely didn't pay close attention then, but that bill actually froze Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.'s rates at their 1993 level less 6.5 percent - until this July. Pretty good deal. But now it's time to pay the piper - just as the costs of oil, coal and gas, which fuel electricity production, have soared.