Feb 20, 2008 2:07 pm US/Eastern
Groups Divided On Bill Spawned By Light Bulb Case
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ―
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A growing coalition wants to ban the standard bulb and replace it with fluorescents.
CBS News
State consumer advocates are divided over a bill in the General Assembly that would bar public utilities from charging customers without their permission for energy-saving products and services.
The measure was prompted by Allegheny Power's mailing of two compact fluorescent light bulbs to each of its 220,000 Maryland residential customers in late 2007 and early 2008 under an energy-efficiency program approved by the state Public Service Commission.
The company didn't tell customers beforehand that they would be billed $11.52 for the bulbs in 12 monthly installments.
The ensuing uproar forced parent company Allegheny Energy Inc. to make refunds and absorb the cost of the program.
At a hearing Tuesday before the House Economic Matters Committee, Johanna Neumann of the nonprofit Maryland Public Interest Research Group said that while the bulb program was "extremely poorly administered," the bill sponsored by Delegate Kevin Kelly, D-Allegany, would kill other worthwhile energy-conservation efforts.
The Office of the People's Counsel, a state agency that represents utility customers before the Public Service Commission, also urged the bill's defeat, saying it would thwart meaningful conservation, The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail reported Tuesday.
Representatives from utility companies and the PSC also opposed Kelly's bill.
But the Consumer Protection Division of the state attorney general's came out in favor of the bill.
Kelly asked the committee to add the safeguard. He said he'd be willing to amend the bill to require that utilities simply notify customers of a surcharge instead of obtaining their written approval.
Committee member Warren E. Miller, R-Howard, said he supports the bill.
"You shouldn't send something to somebody's home they're not going to use," he said.
Maryland's three other electrical utilities -- BGE, Pepco and Delmarva Power -- have imposed monthly surcharges in exchange for coupons redeemable for discounted compact fluorescent bulbs at Home Depot and Costco stores.
Kelly's bill would force utilities to refund any energy conservation surcharge imposed on or after Sept. 1, 2007, that was not authorized in writing by a customer.
A Senate version of the bill was scheduled for a hearing Wednesday.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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