Let's all be sure we understand this latest round of extortion by BGE/Constellation. The PSC makes a long-overdue attemtpt to advocate for the Public (hence the name PUBLIC Service Commission) and our favorite for-profit utility threatens to sue the state. As if Constellation's profits - direct from our pockets to theirs - aren't obscene enough! It is past time for the PSC, the MD legislature and Gov. (I will stop the rate hikes) O'Malady to do their jobs and protect US!! Let BGE/Constellation pack up and leave and I say good riddance. Then we can set about the work of creating a publicly-owned and operated utility that will actually deliver gas and electric at rates that will be set with the actual price of producing and distributing it as the benchmark, rather than stealing as much money as allowed for its shareholders and execuitves. It's time for this legalized theft to STOP. And any member of the general assembly that fails to stand up for us should be sent packing along with Constellation - let them all feed from the public trough somewhere else.

Hate to tell you, Maria, but the PUBLIC SERVICE Commission oversees public services, like utilities, taxi cabs, etc. It is not a commission that advocates for the public, rather one that should be impartial, acting in that middle ground between the interests of the service providers and their customers, and most iimportantly, within the law.

I understand Maria's concerns in her comments regarding your article. What she is describing is similar to the way the "old" BGE operated prior to deregulation; all operational costs (labor force, office buildings, communications and computer systems, a large fleet, power plants, fuels for power plants, wholesale natural gas, equipment, distribution infrastructure, mega-taxes, etc.) plus a specified maximum "profit" which I recall was around 9%. The idea of deregulation didn't come from utilities such as BGE, but it derived from private energy marketing companies, many of whom are now out of business, who promised politicians and the public that competition would result in lower prices. BGE and its investors and customers were satisfied in the regulated market but the politicians along with some big commercial customers jumped on the deregulation bandwagon forcing public utilities to change, first with commercial customers, then with residential customers and now we're paying the price. Unfortunately, the answer isn't as simple as asking BGE to pack up and leave.

Maria's comments are a reflection of the general public's knowledge of de-regulation and what it really means. In its simplest terms we went from a subsidized (cheaper) system to an unsubsidized (actual price) system. If a comparison is made with other de-regulated states, Constellation's pricing is in line and in some cases even less.

I'll repeat what I posted on the most popular media centric website in the DC/Baltimore area about this topic....... "In today's Baltimore Sun www.baltimoresun.com... The very last line but MOST IMPORTANT LINE of the article............. "Legal experts say the company has a strong case, given that lawmakers knew the credits were originally linked to approval of the FPL merger."............. Is that how they teach journalism these days? Most important part of the story is the very last line? This means BGE/Constallation Energy is going to win $386 MILLION DOLLARS from the State of Maryland and Maryland taxpayers! But even more importantly, it proves that the Ehrlich/BGE deal, which the Sun appropriately stated was a better deal for Marylanders than the O'Malley cry-baby antics (but once again buried in a Sun article) was a better deal for Maryland. Yet, The Post and The Sun editorial staffs of course have burried this truth (The Sun has since fired its senior editor by the way). When is the local news media going to wake up and tell the voters that they were mislead by WBAL, WJZ, WMAR, and FOX45 and various other local media sources? When the $386 MILLION DOLLAR bill comes do? Are they going to pay it? I think not. How about we all send our ridiculously increased energy bills to our favorite local news station or your favorite legislator or the Governor who caused this mess himself? SINCE YOU ALL ARE AT FAULT! Wouldn't that be great? This is one of the classic examples of why talk radio and the internet are great. Because you'd barely hear the truth on this story if not for the internet and talk radio. And that's the God's honest truth. Oh, DCRTV Dave Hughes, you are not employed by the University of Maryland system are you? I wouldn't want to get you fired (i.e.: Morgan State U fiasco)! :-( (1/31/08)

Dave's response: I work for myself, but I long for the day when the Washington Post buys me out to assimilate DCRTV into its washingtonpost.com web empire....."

While we all hate to pay more for our electricity, it shouldn't be overlooked that commodity prices have gone up quite a bit in the past decade. Coal prices have risen from about $25/ton to nearly $75/ton. Oil prices have gone from $15/barrel to $90/barrel. Gas prices have risen from $2.50/mmbtu to $8.00/mmbtu, and saw a spike to nearly twice that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This means the input costs for electricity has risen signficantly.

Additionally, over the last 15 years, very little new generation has been built; first because no companies wanted to be stuck with the "stranded costs" (believed to be) associated with deregulation, and now because of the political uncertainty surrounding the market. All the while, demand from consumers has been growing. Think about all the new electic gadgets we now have: cell phones, big screen tvs, DVR boxes, the personal computer. These take energy. As margin (the difference between generation capacity and electic demand) gets tighter, prices go up. It's simple supply and demand.

There are two ways to solve this problem: add generation/transmission capacity and/or reduce demand. The answer doesn't lie in political wrangling over a few hundred million dollars (as much as that sounds like a lot of money, it isn't). The real answer lies in making sure the market is transparent and free of manipulation, encouraging new generation and reducing demand. To encourage new build, the regulatory environment must support it. Reducing demand is up to the consumer. Turn off the computer when you aren't using it. Turn down the AC in the summer. Replace inefficient light bulbs. Taken together by all consumers, this would take an incredible amount of marginal demand out of the market, especially at peak times. That will have a big dampening effect on energy prices.

Everybody blames Constellation Energy and the former Governor.They could not have done none of this without the approval of the politicians in Annapolis,they are the ones that sold you down the river.They were out smarted .

Kudos to Joe for pointing out that the local media has done an absolute disservice to the people of Maryland thanks to their one-sided reporting. Just this evening, Fox 45's question of the day is, "Should the MD energy market be re-regulated?" The question alone leads people to believe that that's even a possibility. It's not!! Not unless Marylander's are willing to refund Constellation all the money that they've invested in their plants since deregulation was first passed. In essence, re-regulating the state would be EXTREMELY expensive, and more complicated than putting Humpty Dumpty back together again.

As far as Constellation suing Maryland. Good for them! It's about time that they (and other businesses) stood up against the anti-business climate in this state. It's absolutely illegal in this country to take money from a company simply because you feel like it. Constellation agreed to pay the $360+M so that the state would stop meddling in their merger agreement with FPL. Constellation felt that they would essentially share some of the cost savings the merger would produce with the ratepayers of Maryland, and get the state politicians out of their way in the meantime. But the merger with FPL didn't go through, in large part because of those same meddling politicians. And because the merger didn't happen, ratepayers aren't entitled to that money.

A much more productive conversation would be around how we as a state find ways to produce more and cleaner energy. It's not going to get any cheaper. It's all about supply and demand... and the supply is getting smaller, while the demand grows ever larger.

There's an awful lot of rhetoric being thrown around in Annapolis these days. But that has nothing to do with the rule of law, or with the true energy crisis we're facing.

And if we want good paying jobs in this state... and companies that are profitable and contribute to our state tax coffers, then our elected officials need a serious dose of reality... and a lesson in economics.

Interesting theory that this is all a precursor to a global settlement. (Seems to me that tactically, Constellation might've waited until after the legislative session, since they've just stirred up the legislative hornets. Unless they think the PSC's shoes are going to drop any day now.) One wonders if the $4B nuke at calvert cliffs will be part of the big deal.

Constellation's lawsuit shows just how scared they really are. They are willing to use us ratepayers as pawns in their feud with a suddenly awakened PSC. They will do anything to prevent reregulation, and because we the people are objecting to being stolen from and the general assembly is finally getting the idea that we're just a tad annoyed about it, they're getting nervous that their gravy train just might come to an end. Reregulation should be just the first step. Why should Maryland be behind so many other states that have reregulated?

RE: [ " Reregulation should be just the first step. Why should Maryland be behind so many other states that have reregulated? " ]....... First it has to legal. Maryland's Democratic party has a bad history of losing every legal battle because of Maryland's historic ONE-PARTY rule arrogance of its governors and its legislators. I suspect BGE/Consetalltion will win this too. As for Maryland being different, very true, read above. Even Virginia has a 2 party system that's competitive. Not Maryland. Maryland has the most anti-business stature of any state in the mid-atlantic, and possibly the entire east coast because the public is largely government employed or gov't subsidized private and the people they elect are anti-business because the average Joe does not equate business with jobs. Media sources like The Sun, WBAL/WJZ/WMAR/WBFF frequently reinforce this idea. In Maryland, jobs are now equated with GOVERNMENT. BINGO. There's the answer you didn't want to hear, but it's a sad truth.

willnotbesilent,
As pointed out above, Maryland virtually cannot reregulate. The PSC pointed this out in one of it's recent studies, and to suggest otherwise suggests a gross ignorance of the facts. Constellation is not "scared." They are simply exercising their legal rights in response to an increasingly hostile environment in Annapolis and perhaps making a point that any solution has to involve them. I certainly hope that no one thinks the new bills introduced by E.J. Pipkin are good ideas. They will cost the consumer far, far more in the long run than will finding constructive solutions to our state's energy needs.

Everyone should read the PSC's 12/3/07 Interim Report to the MD General Assembly. On page 1, the PSC states ".....these higher prices [resulting from capacity shortages & transmission restraints] make the status quo lucrative for existing generators rather than motivating them to spend money to build more (which would bring prices down)." This is the nut of the problem. Investor-owned utilities like Constellation are sucking our money into their pockets and not reinvesting in its infrastructure because doing so means we'd pay less and their profits would be less. An investor-owned utility providing essential services that we can not live without is the wrong model and it will always be the wrong model. At least under regulation, the PSC and the state determined the rates subject to rate-of-return regulation. Now, the FERC sets the rates and the state has no control. I urge everyone to read the PSC's report, as well as the other recent materials on the PSC's website. We need to inform ourselves and keep up the pressure on the legislature and the PSC. And don't forget to let Constellation know what you think of their thievery. Lastly, it amazes me how so many people decry government regulation and intervention because they claim that government can't do anything right, it's "socialism", etc., yet they are just fine with the FERC, which has been staffed with utility industry insiders under the Bush administration, determining what we in Maryland pay for our electricity.

The above post is incorrect on so many points I don't even know where to start. The crux of the problem here in Maryland is that Democrats made their bed and now we all have to sleep in it even though they successfully somehow attempted to blame this whole mess on Bush and Ehrlich in the last election. Ehrlich is/was not responsible for this mess. Maryland Republicans had virtually nothing to do with deregulating Maryland's energy rates. If you want to blame BGE/Constellation, fine. Pick a villain if you want. It won't do any good though since the Maryland legislature created the laws under which BGE/Constellation is going to sue the pants off of them and now BGE/Constellation will be building a brand new nuclear power plant in NEW YORK!! This is what happens when you attack businesses and jobs, they move elsewhere!! Finally, to not blame Maryland's current governor who made so so many phony campaign promises regarding this issue, or Glendenning and the Democratic legislature who created all of this mess is pure insanity. They made the bed, now we have to sleep in it. This is what happens when you do everything possible to drive businesses out of your state as Maryland does. All of you pay for it ultimately. :-(