PSC

It seems odd to hear a 47 percent rate increase described as good news, but Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers are likely past sticker shock. At least it's better than 72 percent - the amount BGE was scheduled to impose last year until lawmakers intervened with a 15 percent cap and deferral of the balance. The net effect is that beginning in June, electricity from BGE may cost 65 percent more than it did before last summer (back when prices were capped at pre-1993 levels). Market rates couldn't be forestalled forever, at least not in an era of deregulation.

Hoping to inject more competition into a part of Maryland's energy market, Gov. Martin O'Malley asked the Public Service Commission yesterday to determine whether the state's program to provide electricity for the poor could use its market power to secure lower rates. O'Malley said in a letter to PSC Chairman Steven B. Larsen that he believes that aggregating the purchasing power of the 93,000 low-income clients of Maryland's Electric Universal Service Program could save them about 8 percent on their rates.

Everyone smiled and posed together for snapshots in Annapolis on Thursday as Gov. Parris N. Glendening signed into law legislation enabling Marylanders to shop for cheaper electricity, starting next year.But the camaraderie will be short-lived. The armies of lawyers and lobbyists who clashed before the General Assembly over restructuring the electric power industry plan to carry their fight to the Public Service Commission in Baltimore. The decisions of that body of regulators will determine whether the new law is seen as a success or failure.

The Maryland Public Service Commission will consider a motion from a coalition of competitors of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. this morning to continue deregulation hearings despite a tentative agreement between BGE and many of the parties in the case.The hearings would determine key issues, including a request by BGE's holding company for cost recovery, price protection for customers, and a request by the People's Counsel for a rate reduction.On Friday, Constellation Energy Group Inc., BGE's holding company, said the PSC had granted its motion to suspend the hearings on deregulation.

In an attempt to chart the future of local telephone service in Maryland, the Public Service Commission kicked off a broad, ambitious round of talks yesterday among rival phone companies.At issue is how to let companies enter the local phone market, which in Maryland and most of the northeastern United States is dominated by Bell Atlantic Corp. of New York.A landmark 1996 federal telecommunications law sought to encourage local service companies like Bell Atlantic and long-distance companies like AT&T Corp.

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.

The Maryland Public Service Commission took the middle ground yesterday when it issued a key decision in its push to open local telephone service to competition.But the ruling, which set the wholesale prices rivals will pay Bell Atlantic Corp. to lease important pieces of its Maryland network, left both the local Bell and challengers like AT&T Corp. feeling they got the bad end of the deal.The prices the PSC established for such things as access to telephone switches and the "loops" that connect Bell Atlantic to its customers were lower than Bell wanted but higher than AT&T and MCI Communications Corp.

The head of the Maryland Public Service Commission is resigning to work for a telecommunications industry group.H. Russell Frisby Jr. will leave his post as PSC chairman by the end of this month to take the presidency of the Competitive Telecommunications Association, a Washington organization that does lobbying and advocacy work for communications companies."

State utility regulators have stepped up to protest a controversial bill snaking through the General Assembly in Annapolis that would vastly restructure Maryland's power supply system.The Public Service Commission's objections to House Bill 10, which would allow Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. to alter its corporate structure but would also set an aggressive timetable for breaking up Maryland's monopolistic electricity structure, stem from amendments that the state Senate attached last week.

Even as they face circuit court opposition to their timetable for a proposed but imperiled $3 billion merger, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and Potomac Electric Power Co. officials face another potentially devastating regulatory hurdle: The District of Columbia Public Service Commission.Unlike its Maryland counterpart, which had been expected to approve the BGE and Pepco alliance without condition, utility executives have known for nearly two years that gaining a green light from the D.C. PSC would likely be problematic -- and the agency hasn't disappointed.

Maryland regulators approved Constellation Energy Group's nuclear joint venture with a French utility Friday, adding conditions - including a one-time $100 credit for each Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customer - that fell short of concessions Gov. Martin O'Malley had sought for the deal. Besides imposing the residential ratepayer credits totaling $110.5 million, the Public Service Commission placed terms on the transaction that would protect BGE from future financial troubles of its parent company.

PSC concludes hearings on Constellation-EDF deal The Maryland Public Service Commission concluded hearings Wednesday evening on Constellation Energy Group's nuclear joint venture with Electricite de France. The PSC is determining whether Constellation's $4.5 billion transaction to sell half of its nuclear power business to EDF is in the public's interest. The parties involved have until Oct. 26 to submit final briefs on the case. It's not clear when the PSC would make its decision; it was initially set to issue an order by today.

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.

Maryland energy regulators said Thursday that more time is required to review Constellation Energy Group's $4.5 billion deal with a French utility, forcing the company to miss its deadline to close the transaction. Constellation said it was disappointed and warned that "any delay in a transaction of this magnitude adds to the risk of it not closing, which would be a real loss for Maryland." The Public Service Commission had expected to issue a decision by Sept. 17 on whether the company's agreement to sell half its nuclear power business to Electricite de France is in the public's interest.

Smart electric meters of dubious value After more than 20 years working in the electric utility industry, I am no longer amazed at the lengths some utility companies will go to wrench one more dollar from the consumer while simultaneously reducing service ("An intelligent idea," July 15). The "smart grid" is still down the road since existing technology is expensive (added costs for consumer) and available on a limited basis, with spotty test results. Several industry specific research groups agree that this is a technology for tomorrow, but first the transmission grid needs to be updated, allowing greater access and thus a reduction in distribution costs.

Constellation Energy Group appealed Monday a court ruling dismissing the utility's lawsuit accusing Maryland regulators of overstepping their authority in investigating a deal to sell half its nuclear power business to a French utility. The legal move before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals comes a week after a Baltimore Circuit Court judge ruled that it is premature for Constellation to challenge a continuing review process under the Maryland Public Service Commission. Judge Stuart R. Berger did not rule on the merits of Constellation's argument that the regulatory review is not required under state law. "We are simply preserving our legal rights in the future," Constellation spokesman Rob Gould said.

A judge could decide as early as today whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Constellation Energy Group that challenges the authority of energy regulators to investigate its deal to sell half its nuclear power assets to a French utility. The legal battle between state officials and the company stems from the Maryland Public Service Commission's ruling last month that Constellation's $4.5 billion deal with Electricite de France must be in the public interest to go forward, thereby initiating a regulatory review.

Constellation responsible for impasse with state Your editorial attacking Gov. O'Malley for insisting that the Constellation/EDF merger benefit ratepayers, shareholders and the environment rather than just a handful of Constellation executives ("Separate Politics, Power" June 15) is based on several significant factual mistakes: * Constellation got itself into its latest self-inflicted mess in December by filing a frivolous legal challenge to the Public Service Commission's responsibility to review whether or not the transaction is in the public interest.

The Maryland attorney general's office announced on Friday that it will seek the dismissal of a lawsuit from Constellation Energy Group that accuses state regulators of overstepping their authority by intervening in its deal to sell half its nuclear power assets to a French utility. At the same time, Gov. Martin O'Malley and Constellation officials reaffirmed a willingness to continue settlement negotiations while both sides also stepped up the sniping that has marred their relations for several years.

Officials with Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., the largest energy provider in Maryland, told regulators at a hearing yesterday that home-heating bills have skyrocketed this winter mainly because of significantly colder weather, greater household consumption and, to a lesser extent, spikes in commodity costs for electricity and gas. Company officials also noted other factors - including longer billing cycles in November and December and the proliferation of...