Gov. Martin O?Malley has asked the state Public Service Commission to see if the state can buy electricity wholesale at a discount and then resell it to consumers.
In a letter sent to PSC Chairman Steven Larsen Wednesday, O?Malley asked the commission to “initiate a proceeding at the earliest practicable time.”
“We should explore whether Maryland can use its market power to purchase lower cost electricity for its most vulnerable citizens while injecting some competition into an otherwise non-competitive market,” O?Malley said in the letter.
It is the latest of several moves by the governor in the last two months to blunt the big jump in Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. electric rates O?Malley found he and the commission he appointed could not prevent, despite campaign promises.
O?Malley last week asked Larsen look into the wholesale rates BGE was being charged by its parent company, Constellation Energy, and other suppliers were “just and reasonable” as required by federal law. The PSC has also launched an investigation into any possible collusion to fix rates by BGE and Constellation.
As part of that probe, PSC spokeswoman LaWanda Edwards said the commission may study aggregate purchasing. Hearings on the BGE-Constellation relationship could happen in September or October, Edwards said.
“We are currently examining whether changes to the procurement process can save money for residential customers,” Edwards said. “We will include in our study the idea of aggregating customers to obtain lower prices.”
Examiner staff writer Jaime
Malarkey contributed to this report.
