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Feb 26, 2008 6:00 pm US/Eastern
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Constellation Energy Appears Before PSC
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
Constellation Energy lawyers got some tense and tough questions at a Public Service Commission meeting Tuesday.
Company attorneys were forced to answer questions about the state's deregulation deal in 1999.
As
Derek Valcourt explains, it's the latest saga in the ongoing feud between the energy giant and commission as it looks for ratepayer relief.
The Public Service Commission thinks BGE ratepayers got a raw deal when the state agreed to deregulate the energy market back in 1999.
Constellation Energy, BGE's parent company, disagrees. They were a no show for the PSC's Feb. 6 hearing on the issue, so they were ordered to appear Tuesday.
Commission Chairman Steven Larson says they are on a fact finding mission, grilling Constellation Energy lawyers to learn if the company violated the terms of the 1999 deregulation agreement and if so, order refunds for ratepayers.
"Hopefully we'll be in a position to provide specific recommendations to the General Assembly," Larson said.
Much of the questioning Tuesday focused on the cost to shut down the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant by the year 2036. We're already paying fees to dismantle the plant, but the PSC worries consumers could be footing too much of the bill.
Constellation argues the company could get stuck paying even more since no one really knows what it will cost to dismantle the plant 30 years from now. It's only their best estimate.
"Ratepayer liability for the decommissioning of Calvert Cliffs is capped at $520 million. Anything that exceeds the $520 million would be taken care of by Constellation Energy shareholders," said Rob Gould, spokesperson for Constellation Energy.
Constellation Energy made $258 million in profit. That's a 27 percent increase over last year. But the company is still suing Maryland in federal court over the rate reduction plan the state imposed to soften the blow of 72 percent rate hike in 2006.
Constellation Energy's federal lawsuit has already been heard by a state court and Maryland's Court of Appeals. Both times Constellation Energy won.
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