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Apr 8, 2008 6:37 pm US/Eastern
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Customers Weigh In About Constellation Settlement
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
The Maryland General Assembly approved legislation needed to complete a settlement between the state and Constellation Energy on Monday, a deal valued at about $2 billion in rate relief and dropped consumer liability for nuclear decommissioning costs.
What is the bottom line on the BGE deal with the state? You get a one-time credit of $170, but the 72% increase since the rate caps came off last year sticks, outraging some customers.
"This is still supposed to be a government for and by and of the people with a system of checks and balances, and right now in Annapolis, it seems like the only thing they're concerned about is the checks," said Daren Muhammad.
Combine that 72% jump with another more recent 13% increase in market rates, and you're paying 85% more now.
Delegate Pat McDonough is no fan of the deal.
"It makes me angry. We have a statewide Katrina in Maryland. We have a catastrophe and the Maryland citizens are suffering," McDonough said.
He says a provision hidden in the legislation makes it easier for a takeover of BGE's parent, Constellation Energy.
"We're getting the shaft as consumers and they're getting the gold," he said.
Rob Gould with BGE says the deal is a win-win for the company and its customers.
"We need that strategic flexibility to be able to make that investment, irrespective of what people may think is at work," Gould said.
The $170 will be credited to bills by the end of the year.
"We're closing the book on the past," Gould said.
Problems began in 1999. Lawmakers voted to deregulate. It was supposed to drive prices down as companies other than BGE could compete. When that didn't happen, bills surged.
"Little pieces are being put back into place to fix what is a huge, huge problem that really broke our electric system," said consumer advocate Johanna Newmann.
Newmann says long-term conservation is key.
"We could see blackouts as early as 2011 if we don't do something to solve the problems in the electric grid," she said.
In the short term, consumers are left paying almost double. For some, the credit provides too little relief, too late.
"It's highway robbery. They made Jesse James, Frank James and the whatchamacallit brothers look like they were choir boys," Muhammad said.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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