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In 1999, Maryland deregulated electric rates. A growing number of voices feel it was a mistake that’s created profit monopolies for our largest power providers and tangled up our energy needs in big business politics. The result? Basic utilities have become a financial burden for many members of our community.
The idea behind deregulation was to encourage exactly the opposite: allowing companies to compete for customers was supposed to drive down prices. What happened, and what do we do now?
Today’s panel included:
- Leah Gibbons, Maryland Chair for the Retail Energy Supply Association
- Maria Allwine, consumer activist and member of the Maryland Coalition for BGE Reregulation
- Senator Jim Rosapepe, Maryland State Senator and re-regulation advocate
- Douglas Nazarian, Chairman of the Maryland Public Service Comission
The telephone number for the Office of External Relationships, which Doug mentions as a resource for people who’ve seen extreme rate hikes, is 410-767-8028.
For more information on the initiative to re-instate regulation of electric rates, please visit Re Reg Electric Rates.
