BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Baltimore city leaders voted to more than double the fee Baltimore Gas and Electric pays to use the city’s underground conduit system, a move the utility warned could raise customer bills.
At Baltimore City Hall Wednesday, the Board of Estimates, the city’s spending panel, approved a proposed conduit fee increase from $2.20 to $4.05 per linear foot. The new fee will replace an agreement made in 2023 between the city and BGE, the largest occupant of the city’s conduit system.
Under the 2023 agreement, the city moved away from a traditional franchise fee and instead required BGE to make capital improvements. Those improvements totaled $120 million. The city notified BGE in June that it would not renew the agreement.
After the Board of Estimates meeting, Mayor Brandon Scott said the city needs to raise the fee because conditions have changed since the 2023 deal.
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“While the 2023 agreement delivered many of the capital improvements it was designed to achieve, we have to recognize that things have changed in the past three years. Construction costs are higher, the needs of the system are greater, and we have to make adjustments to address some of the public safety issues that have arisen,” Scott said.
BGE argued the city has failed to show why the fee should increase, saying the current agreement is already producing better infrastructure results at a lower cost. At the BOE meeting, BGE highlighted affordability concerns and said customers would see an increase in their bill because of the higher fee.
“Our customers are struggling to pay their current bills. And where I know our profits have been in the news quite often in the media, what we’re making as a profit does not mean that we’re just pocketing that or giving everything back to shareholders. So I think we got to correct that (misthought) first, the of the profit amount, 95% is being reinvested back into the BGE system,” said Brittany Jones of BGE.
City Council President Zeke Cohen pushed back on BGE’s position that it would pass any added costs to customers.
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“BGE is telling our residents that if we charge them more to use our conduit, they’ll simply pass the costs on to customers. As the mayor said, that’s not their call. That is the Public Service Commission’s call. My question is, when is enough enough?” Cohen said.
Scott also noted BGE is already seeking a rate increase from the Public Service Commission.
“The reality is that they’re already before the PSC for a rate increase before this was done, right? So, I want the residents and rate payers of BGE to know that. Before this was even done, they’re already asking for an increase,” Scott said.
Scott said the conduit fee increase could mean “like a dollar” added to a customer’s BGE bill.
The proposed conduit fee increase approved Wednesday is set to begin January 1, 2027.
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