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.
