Lawmakers Hope BGE Review Will Pull Plug on Rate Hike

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Lawmakers unhappy with a 72 percent rate hike proposed for Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. now have financial data about the company that could help them decide whether to call a special session to address rate relief.

A day after getting the data, though, top legislators said it was too soon to know what they'll do with the information.

The company turned over the information to House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller after they asked for details about the company's financial situation. Lawmakers tried, but failed last session to pass a law to soften the blow of 72 percent hikes expected for BGE residential customers in July when rate caps were to expire.

A Baltimore judge on Tuesday put the fate of the rate hike into question when he ruled that the utility-regulating Public Service Commission erred in approving the increase. The judge, siding with Baltimore officials in the lawsuit, said the PSC needs to hold another review before the increase takes effect.

A day after that ruling, BGE's parent company, Constellation Energy Group, turned over financial information to Busch and Miller. They requested details on Constellation's pending merger with a Florida utility, including the size of bonuses and severance packages promised to company executives if the merger goes through.

On Thursday, Busch said he was just starting to review the data, which lawmakers have been asking for since the last legislative session.

"This is information we did not get during the legislative session," Busch said.

A spokeswoman for Miller, Lisa McMurray, said the lawmaker had just started looking at the numbers. After a review, she said, Miller and Busch will decide how to proceed.

"We just want to make sure that the deal the PSC arranged for the rate increase is in the best interest of the consumer," she said.

Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich negotiated a deal with the company to allow BGE's customers to phase in the hikes, instead of paying all at once. But Democrats have complained the Ehrlich phase-in plan still requires customers to pay the whole increase, just in slower increments.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)