Until now you could count on BGE's kilowatt-hour rates dipping at the end of the hot-weather season. Peak-use kilowatts are usually the most expensive, and there's no peak like a 100-degree day in August. For this reason generators and utilities such as Baltimore Gas & Electric always charged more for summertime juice. Last year, when September turned to October, the price of BGE electricity dropped by almost 0.9 cent per kilowatt hour -- $9 a month for a typical bill.

Not this year. BGE just posted its rates for the 12 months beginning in June. The summertime generation and transmission price (beginning June 1) will be 11.8 cents. (11.4 cents for generation and 0.4 cents for transmission.) But the non-summer rate beginning Oct. 1 will be almost exactly the same. The reason: BGE bought its summertime juice back when energy costs were lower. It bought the non-summer juice when costs were rising, including a big bundle last month. But at this point BGE's standard non-summer rate is still less than what independent kilowatt vendors are charging.