Annapolis (Map, News) - Maryland utility rates could temporarily climb under a package of energy bills Gov. Martin O’Malley plans to introduce to combat a looming power shortage and aging transmission lines.

O’Malley will support some of the recommendations by his energy administration, including a trust to fund energy-efficient technology and programs to promote cleaner power.

“In five to 10 years, we will have rolling blackouts and brownouts if we don’t bring down rates of [energy] consumption,” O’Malley said.

The fund would be financed by pollution credits auctioned to electric companies in June, potentially netting $100 million, said Malcolm Woolfe, director of the Maryland Energy Administration. But some lawmakers expressed doubt the auction — the first of its kind — would generate that much and warned the costs for credits would be passed on to consumers.

Many said they preferred returning profits from the auction to Baltimore Gas & Electric consumers, still reeling from a 72 percent electricity rate increase last year, through direct rebates.

“They have been pushed against the wall time and time again with no relief,” said Sen. George Della, a Baltimore City Democrat. “As soon as a pot of money is created, everyone wants a piece of it. Well, what about the ratepayers?”

The MEA proposals listed in the report released Monday include 20 recommendations to meet O’Malley’s pledge to cut consumption by 15 percent in seven years, including legislation to codify that goal and requiring the state’s utility companies to purchase 20 percent of their power from wind, solar or other renewable sources by 2022.

Woolfe said the plan should be viewed as a “silver buckshot” rather than a “silver bullet.”

“There is not one thing that will in and of itself provide affordable, reliable, clean energy,” Woolfe said. “We need to do a lot of little things.”

O’Malley said he hoped to use the fund to provide rewards for consumers who reduce their electricity consumption, such as offering rebates for energy-efficient light bulbs or incentives for in-home energy audits.

Some public interest groups are cautioning legislators against direct rebates to consumers. Johanna Neumann, a policy advocate with the Maryland Public Interest Research Group, said consumers would see more long-term savings if they invested in the energy-efficiency fund.

Staff Writer Kelsey Volkmann contributed to this report.

jmalarkey@baltimoreexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

1:35 PM MST on Mon., Feb. 18, 2008 re: "Energy programs could drive rates up, bills down"

Examiner Reader said:
"ratepayers would only see a $10 reduction in their bills, which is only 1 percent of the average bill.." The AVERAGE bill is $1000???? This guy must have graduated from the O'Malley school of mathematics.

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2:23 PM MST on Fri., Feb. 8, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Examiner Reader said:
What total Green BS! Cuts to consumption mean a reduced standard of living and more goverment control of the market. Get out of Maryland now before it is too late.

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10:50 AM MST on Fri., Feb. 8, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Examiner Reader said:
offering rewards to consumers for using lees energy? the reward money comes from the stolen money that the great legislature gave away to BGE in 1999, also the PSC, owemally's peolpe, is allowing BGE to charge everyone on thier BGE bills for the energy efficent , mercury containing, compact fluorescent bulbs, which in case you don't know, home depot is selling them to us at reduced rates, (yeah sure) and the difference is made up by BGE from thier customers(us again) paying the extra monthly fee, just don't break them because the mercury is a hazardous substance. requiring utilities to purchase minimum % of electric power from wind, solar , whatever without any constraints is really allowing the "subsidiaries" to pop up and build these wind turbines, solar cells fields, and sell the energy back to themselves thru various corporations and making even more profit, unregulated of course.

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8:57 AM MST on Fri., Feb. 8, 2008 re: "Lawmakers target tree-cutting utility companies"

Examiner Reader said:
In regard to tree-cutting utility companies.If the utilities would spend the money to bury the cables unstead of defacing our trees, everyone would be better off. This would also save lives as there would be no poles, like the poles in my neighborhood, that hug the roadways.

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1:24 PM MST on Wed., Jan. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Mark said:
In addition: There is nothing related to O'Malley and "increses" that could ever be considered temporary when more money from the great unwashed is involved. Any of you O'Malley - ites out there remember the "temporary" Baltimore City cell phone charge just until the school system was solvent ? Guess what, it's still there. He's a lying SOB and you idiot Maryland voters get what you vote into office.

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11:03 AM MST on Wed., Jan. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Mark said:
UN-Conscious reader: Spendenning was a Democrat not Republican who left Ehrlich with a huge deficit which Ehrlich (despite not having any cooperation from our state legislature) turned into a surplus which MOM turned into a deficit again. Get your facts straight, your talking points don't fly here.

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10:18 AM MST on Wed., Jan. 16, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Wake Up said:
He will change this in the last second so that we forget about the tax hikes. Then we will think he actually cares about the citizens of Maryland. Smoke and mirrors of the criminal himself.

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1:00 PM MST on Tue., Jan. 15, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Examiner Reader said:
It seems that the rate hike to BG&E customers of 72.5 percent gets much more attention than the similar increase in rates that Pepco customers have experienced over the past few years. After the cap on Pepco�s residential customers expired on June 30, 2004, I calculate the cumulative increase in Pepco�s residential rates at 72.9 percent (the product of four consecutive years of increases: 15 percent in 2004, 4.5 percent in 2005, 38.5 percent in 2006, and 3.9 percent in 2007). The cap on BG&E�s residential customers didn�t expire until June 30, 2006, with the cumulative 72.5 percent increase in their electricity rates the product of a 15 percent rate hike in 2006 and a 50 percent rate hike in 2007.

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9:10 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 15, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Examiner Reader said:
Somebody tell this; What in O'Malley's history even suggests that he should come anywhere near this problem? Maybe he can fix it so that 83% of BGE customers will pay less, right? You want to keep 'yo big tv's fired-up, you going to have to pay for it....sorry. Want to pay less? Turn off the idiot box, and insulate your attic. I can only hope the O'Malley Bots leave this one, well enough alone.

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7:40 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 15, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Conscious Reader said:
LOL...Omalley is fixing what Glendenning mucked up, and Erlich put a band-aid on! This is necessary medicine, but typical of what Democrats are accused of. The Republicans break it, do a shell game with the money and the finances (get rich in the meantime) and then pass the blame of the costly fix to the Dems...I know the next Democratic President of the US is going to get blamed for Bushes pseudo-war, at the tune of a cool 1trillion a year, and it is going to be all their faults for the fix. Don't you cats remember the saying, money doesn't grow on trees? Well it doesn't, and things have to be paid for. Marylanders have a quality of life that requires money to support, what, you do know inflation. The shell game is over, and isn't really Omalleys fault that he is the one that has to pull the curtain off of Oz...Dorothy, this isn't Kansas, it is Maryland...It is broken, and we are all going to have to fix it or it is only gonna get worse!

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6:34 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 15, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Examiner Reader said:
Since there charging all rate payers for 2 cfl light bulbs and constantly raising our rates they should include a tube of KY. I think we're all gonna need it over the next couple of years.

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5:31 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 15, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Examiner Reader said:
O'Malley is a jerk.

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5:27 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 15, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

Examiner Reader said:
I don't want any more complaints about O'Malley. You morons voted him into office, now we all have to live with it. Dopes.

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4:44 AM MST on Tue., Jan. 15, 2008 re: "O�Malley energy plan could boost electric rates"

The Undertaker said:
O'Malley is a lying scumbag, but I would expect nothing less from an IRA supporter like him. Ehrlich was an arrogant jerk too, but at least he didn't lie to us.

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