Paul Cummins, president of the Hereford Community Association, was tired of getting the run-around from BGE customer service representatives every time he asked to see a plan that would help him calculate how much his bill would be if he opted for a deferred interest rate payment program.
So Cummins himself calculated what his monthly electric bill, which is now $135, would be after the planned rate increase takes place July 1.
He was outraged.
The deferred payment plan BGE is offering “may seem like a good deal for the first eight months, but in the back end they?re going to pay like the dickens,” he said.
Under the opt-out plan, Cummins would pay $1,857.60 for the first eight months. His bill for that period would be only $1,306.80 under the deferred payment option ? which looked fair enough until he noticed that under the deferred plan, he would have had to pay another $111.50 by February, in addition to the deferred amount, because of the 5 percent interest charged on his deferred amount.
Patricia Smith, for the Office of the People?s Counsel, said, “People will be hammered with this cost. This cost is outrageous. I told the courts no interest rates and no regulatory rates.”
Robert Gould, a spokesman for BGE parent Constellation Energy, said customers have a choice about which plan they want, and the rate deferment program is for those who need their bills spread out over a period of time.
“All we are suggesting is for people to make their decision on their own financial situation,” he said.
A typical customer will pay about $150 a month after July 1, when the rate increase is to take place, he said.
