Whatever the dollar amount of the various bills may be means nothing on its own. Certainly the rate charged per unit consumed has risen but unless these units (KwH, Cu Ft, etc) are included as well as the degree days in a consistent comparison over a period of years... it is just so much tail chasing.

FYI

FYI

We live in a 2 BR apartment with very poor insulation and, I imagine, not the most efficient heat pump. Everything is electric (water heater, stove, etc.), we keep our thermostat at 70 (60 at night) and yet our highest bill so far was $257.

The problem is that everyone wants to live comfortably in a single-family home. And, for some reason, the homes in MD are mostly built from, well, cardboard. They just cannot be energy-efficient. If more people were living in multi-family dwellings and solid construction brick homes, they wouldn't have to spend that much on energy.

I thought Martin was going to "Take on BG&E" and stop the rate hikes?
I guess he lied...again!

We're getting killed by electricity bills here too. I've switched to some of the LED lights for inside my home. I like the Vivid 36 and Pharox and PAR20 and PAR38 ones the best to replace my old bulbs and I've saved a lot on my BGE bills becuase the LEDs use 70% less electricity. The LEDs cost more, but at our BGE rates, they pay for themselves in a couple of months. I also shopped around and found the best prices on LEDs at two websites - one is www.LEDinsider.com and the other is www.Eaglelight.com. The vivid bulb for instance is only $9.99 on eaglelight (and it's $19.99 on LEDinsider and $29.99 on the manufacturer's website! Good luck staying warm and saving on those electric bills!

The problem with our electric rates is the gaggle of really stupid legislators who fell for the idea of deregulation, plus the lying testimony of BGE officials. Just ain't got no way-back 'chine to fix it.

The problem with our electric rates is the gaggle of really stupid legislators who fell for the idea of deregulation, plus the lying testimony of BGE officials. Just ain't got no way-back 'chine to fix it.

The people who spend $20,000 on energy related expenditures hopefully plan to live in their home a long time. That's a long payback period. Of course the house is more comfortable and it might help the resale, but you won't get it all back. My suggestion for folks who live in an old drafty house and have done all the obvious inexpensive 'energy tips' is to make serious use of space heating. Keep the house quite cold and just heat the room you're in. There are all kinds of space heaters, pick the one that works for you.

My BGE condo bill doubled last month and it as estimated! BGE supposedly just needs to ride by the building to read the meters. When this happened a few years ago, it took them months to resume actual readings. How can I compare costs year to year when this happens?

My BGE condo bill doubled last month and it as estimated! BGE supposedly just needs to ride by the building to read the meters. When this happened a few years ago, it took them months to resume actual readings. How can I compare costs year to year when this happens?

Thank God O'Malley is watching out for us!!! I am sure that none of this has anything to do with Constellation's poor investments and financial troubles. Not to mention the money they have to pay Warren Buffett for breaking the contract.

Here is a tip - in your main living area, use a kerosene heater or one of those unvented natural gas space heaters that are now widely sold at home improvement stores and on the internet.

Disregard the bureaucrats who try to say that these heaters violate codes. They are fine as long as you are a moderately careful and intelligent person.

I have hot water radiators for my central heat. One thing I did this year was put insulation around the heating pipes in the basement, so less heat escapes in the basement and more of heat goes into my main living areas.

My last bill for a 1949 rowhouse end unit in Ednor Gardens was $239. That was for the period ending Jan 15 and was a 34 day billing cycle for some reason. I thought that was OK. Though I probably spent about $50 on kerosene as well. I keep my house about 69 when I'm home and awake, set it to 60 when asleep or not home. I am bask in luxurious heat sitting in front of my radiant kerosene heater when I am relaxing in the evening.

As explained on channel 2 news last night, many BGE customers were billed based on estimated usage for January, 2009. Because of the storm last week the meter readers could not get to many homes, therefore the estimated meter reading. Look at your bill for January, if in the gas and electric sections for usage it reads "estimated" instead of "actual" this is what happened. I called BGE and explained to them that they "estimated" that I had used to much electricity for January, 2009, they then asked for the current meter reading and adjusted my bill accordingly. I hope this helps.

I'm shedding a gentle tear for the person in the 3,500 square foot home complaining about the heating bill!

I live in a modest home in 21122--The last bill I recieved was 25% higher than it has ever been--What is going on--Somone has to stop them before everyone is reduced to criminal acts to heat their homes. I am at my wits end and do not know what I will do if this trend continues-

I live in a modest home in 21122--The last bill I recieved was 25% higher than it has ever been--What is going on--Somone has to stop them before everyone is reduced to criminal acts to heat their homes. I am at my wits end and do not know what I will do if this trend continues- will the next step be commiting violent acts against BGE trucks and workers?--It is in our near future--

what is BGE?

I live in 1 2 BR apartment in catonsville alone. My thermostat is at 60 70% of the time and never past 64. My bills have never dropped below 250. My november bill hit 400 and after pretty much shutting my heat off went down to 301. Neither my landlord (a corporation) nor BGE seems to be willing to help. What should i do?

My bill jumped from 350$ last year around this time to 650$ this past January... and needless to say I'm irate. I have a 4 month old and have CFL, keep the thermostat around 69 and I'm not going much lower. Asked my dad what he's paying in Virginia, 8c/kwhr vs 12 w/kwhr for BGE.

Here's the bottom line;
-Gas/Elec/Water are utilities- they should be dependable, reliable, and reasonable (i.e. the name "utility"). When our governments allow corporations to use utilities as free- market vehicles for profit, the consumer/citizen loses. This has been shown time and time again.. Rent the movie "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" to see how corporate manipulation of deregulated energy markets hurts consumers.
-People are hurting, and our government which has made a mistake with deregulation is doing nothing to change the system/problem that they created.
-Make utilities- utilities again... Why is it fair that large corporate entities like Johns Hopkins can directly negotiate with BGE (read about how initial deregulation in Maryland was lobbied) and the average consumer gets screwed

I'm seriously considering moving out of this area. Long term this can't be good for Maryland development

My wife son and I recently moved out of the area to care for family members living in New York State, but because our house is still on the market, we get a nice big BGE bill each month. Get this: a) We've kept the thermostat at 55 degrees, b) We're not living in the house so we don't run ANY appliances ever; and c) Since December, we have turned off the refridgerator. Our December bill was over $300, and our January bill that we just received was over $400. We have had the meter tested for accuracy and according to BGE, it is accurate but we have asked the MD PSC to do a refereed test. Other than letting the pipes freeze, I don't know what else to do.

At some point, BGE will end up being bailed out because of all the non paying customers who cant afford it. Stimulus package? how about investigating companies like BGE, Oil companies and health care industry. Their CEO's are still sitting pretty while the rest of us have to work overtime to survive. Anybody know what BGE's profit was last year? It would be interesting to know.

We're on the budget billing thing and our bill is $496 every month for a 2200 sf home. W/out budget billing our bill would be several hundreds more. Something wrong is going on.

My bill has been at least 500 dollars per month, and I live in a two room condo, about 900 square feet. I work during the day and I do not get home until 7 in the evening, I don't have any kids, I rarely wash clothes. I run the dishwasher once a month. I rarely use the oven, and my bills are that high. I am really stressed because I can't afford 500 plus per month. When I can't pay all of it, they threaten to turn it off, and I would like to know what my options are because this doesn't make sense. There are all these other charges on the bill, for customer charge, distribution charge, rsp charges, all of which equal up to over 100 dollars alone. Can anyone help with ideas about handling this

I live in a single Family home with my wife. The house is about 3000sq/ft plus a finished basement. We keep the heat around 60 at night and 68 when we are up and moving around. Our bill was 450$ estimated last month, but should read 400$ with actual usage. Gas heat and the house is a energy star home built in the early 2000's. I thought my bill was high.. You all have reason to complain.. And the person that is paying 500$ a month for a 900 sq/ft condo, should have her meter checked... Ask other people what they are paying in your building.

I think that this is a joke. Explain how my BGE bill should be $650 last month. I have propane heat, a pellet stove, propane cooktops, etc. This is normally the lowest bill season for me with sub $200 bills. Are my lightbulbs suddently using more energy? Did I accidentally leave my daughters night light on too long? What suddently changed about my electricity use?

I have notified the Maryland Public Service Commission of my following theory:

"My electric bill for last month was abnormally high - it has never been higher!
Something happened and I suspect it might be technical in nature. As an engineer with a degree in electronics and electrical technology, I suspect that perhaps the electrical characteristics of the alternating current supplied our homes was abnormal, causing meters to spin faster than normal.
The frequency of alternating current should be 60 cycles per second, or 60 Hertz. What if the power generating stations were erroneously making electricity at 65, 70, or 75 Hertz? Just as the frequency of the alternating current will affect the speed of a motor, it will affect the speed of electric meters. There should be records of the alternating current frequency from the monitoring equipment at the power plants made available to the PSC for review."

There is something wrong here! I expect that my bill is higher in the month of December but when my bill in January exceeded December, I was concerned. Especially because I was away for most of January with the heat down to 55 and everything imaginable uplugged. I did call the customer service line and was told "well it was cold in January"... when I probed further and didn't except that excuse, they looked up my usage from this time last year and commented that I was using the same amount of gas and electricity as last year. That's impossible! I have fewer people in my home and my kids with me every other week and I was away for two weeks. Could it be that my neighbors have hooked into my electricity? I know this sounds sarcastic but after I calm down a bit, I too and contacting the MPSC.

How much more of this can we take, our bill doubled we had no christmas tree or lights, we have energy efficient lights, stove,washer, keep heat to 63,why should we have to walk around our homes with gloves and coats on while these fat cats suck us dry. How can we read our meter to see if they are cheating us? Half our pension goes to BGE, the other half goes to property taxes and gas, yes and of course the other rip off cable.
Maybe we might have a few bucks to eat out at Mcdonalds or search the dumpsters at Toco bell. Somebody better start thinking about the middle class and finding us a bail out NOW.
And not a quick fix, long term help.

Diane, Elkridge, Md.

Our normal winter bill for the past 5 years has been $250 - $350 max. This year, December $594, January $650 and this month...get ready for it...$851! Please keep in mind both of our heat pumps have been replaced in the past 5 years (one with in the past 6 months). We keep the heat at 68 when we are home since we have a small child and everyday while we are at work it is set to 52. At night while we are sleeping the non-sleeping part of the house is closed off and set to 58 while we keep the sleeping side at 64. Please tell me how this works? I called BGE and even Tracy said that seemed pretty high to her. She said they would check the meter but I hardly think they are going to find a single thing wrong...or at least admit it. I am merely following the rules so I can file a complaint with the MPSC. I think we need to have utilities re-regulated because at this rate, my BGE bill is going to be higher than my mortgage next winter.

I think we need to overthrow the American government. Its corrupt and while they are living in greed of our hard earned money we are in a struggle to hang on in life. It wont be long and gas prices will rise again for your car. America we need to stop it now or we will all be living in camps.What are we going to do when all of us are looking for work. The economy went bad when gas hit the ceiling, Bge rate hikes,taxes went up for Maryland but our paychecks remain the same. We are human beings and no one is hearing our cries for help.My electric bill has doubled over the last few months. Greed has really set in our country and they are hitting us in our wallets on things we are trapped into. Its time to take action and fight our Government and everyone should just take all there tax money back 100 percent. If i have to drive on dirt roads because of this i dont care. We will be at war soon with our own country and the world.

So the previous homeowner is honest. I got my ranch of 1500sq ft last year, and this is the first winter I had here. The previous owner said his highest bill ever is $180, while mine is, $300.
Now I see why. During the day we set at 60, evening and weekends is 65, and sleeping time is 60. I had a 2 year old and I feel so sad that when we stepped in the house, I had to PUT ON a coat on her (her daycare is well heated). She is like a polar bear with all the garments, and I am not going any lower.
This is crime, since all consumers do not have a way out. We have no options but to suffer under this crap.

While antidotal, the stories are certainly compelling. It is hard to believe the increases can be entirely based on consumption (when consumption hasn't changed) or the $0.03 or $0.04/kilowatt hour increase in electric rates.

I currently face $500++ monthly BGE bills for a modest 1250 sq. foot rancher with energy updates. We keep it at 60 degrees during the bulk of the day / night; about 68 in afternoon/evening; turn out the lights, use energy saving appliances, bulbs, added insulation to the attic, etc., etc. NO A/C in the house (so summer usage should be limited to lightbulbs and energy efficient appliances) and yet 2008 summer rates more than doubled from 2007!

In comparison, about 3 years ago I lived in a 2500 sq. foot home in this area kept at a toasty 73, constantly running such things as hottub, w/d, 2 fridges and other large appliances with an average BGE bill of $250, $350 tops in winter. (Heard that new owners bill had tripled)

Something doesn't add up. I'm intrigued by Stephen's idea expressed above and would encourage him to explore this (I lack the technical background to communicate such a theory).

I live in a 36 year old -2400 sf- home with a 24 year old HVAC system. I have gas heat and keep my house at 68 degrees because my kids bedrooms don't heat as well and are about 5 degrees colder. My last, estimated, bill was $767.77. The gas wasn't the entire problem. The electric was over half of the bill and was estimated 500 kWh more than the previous month. Why would they estimate that I would use more electric when I have gas heat? I should be doing the same amount of laundry and dishes and having the lights on the same amount of time. I too did not get any answers form BGE, except that when they read the meter this month there will be an adjustment. But they said it could be even higher, which they had better not dare. What fast one are they trying to pull and how is -the wonderful- Gov. Owe Malley involved?

My electric/gas bill combined has DOUBLED this year, with no change in our electricity use habits from year to year. Remember nat gas and commodity prices are falling off a cliff! Oil and nat gas are but a fraction of the price 12-months ago. I can only conclude BGE bought energy forward (hedged) locking in cyclically high rates. I am surprised there isn't more of an uproar from people on fixed budgets, as this kind of increase is unaccpetable in the face of fall underyling prices. I will be interested to see Costellations Q1 earnings and see if there is a huge loss on hedges they passed on to us= gross mismangement and exploitation of captive consumers.

What the heck is going on with the BGE prices? Why such an increase? We live in a 1000 sq ft apt home, had the temp at 66. Our bill for Dec & Jan were $500 each. I have since cut our temp down to 60, unplugged all appliances etc not used and only use the dryer for half of the time to dry our clothes. I can only hope that our electric bill will go down. I am frankly tired of having freezing fingers and this is not fair to our children. We even had a BGE rep leave a cut off notice on our door so we had to pay something. Oh and I lost my job in November so our income is less as it is. I am so disgusted. What can we do? who can we yell at? Between people losing their jobs, homes, this is getting out of control!

i had a bge representative knock on my door yesterday saying we had to come up with $1,200.00 by 3pm to avoid interuption, in october of 2008 our bill was $639.00 which included an outstanding balance, now 4 months later it has shot up to a total of $2,700.00, we make what payments we can i got laid off from my job and its just my husband who works part time, we also have a child i have tried to get help from the local social service department and they told me they have no more funds available so where can i go to for help? it is just so hard for us to survive this i have to find another place to move to on top of all this our funds are so low we had one of our vehicles repossed due to me being laid off. and bge doesnt care they are money hungry and maybe if they had to pay for their utilities they would be more compassionate of elderly people who are on fixed incomes as well as everyone else, if they cut off massive people they will lose so much money and respect. yeah they lifted the cap but no other utility company provides for our area maybe thats why they lifted it? im sure so many more people are worse off than us but does it make it right to cut you off of a source which is needed to survive? i rarely used my heat this year i had to dress my child in thick clothes as well as us just to keep warm and my bills are still high as ever. i only used the heater cause i was afraid the pipes would freeze over, i am just shocked about this i am only 25 yrs old and it is so hard for just starting families.

i had a bge representative knock on my door yesterday saying we had to come up with $1,200.00 by 3pm to avoid interuption, in october of 2008 our bill was $639.00 which included an outstanding balance, now 4 months later it has shot up to a total of $2,700.00, we make what payments we can i got laid off from my job and its just my husband who works part time, we also have a child i have tried to get help from the local social service department and they told me they have no more funds available so where can i go to for help? it is just so hard for us to survive this i have to find another place to move to on top of all this our funds are so low we had one of our vehicles repossed due to me being laid off. and bge doesnt care they are money hungry and maybe if they had to pay for their utilities they would be more compassionate of elderly people who are on fixed incomes as well as everyone else, if they cut off massive people they will lose so much money and respect. yeah they lifted the cap but no other utility company provides for our area maybe thats why they lifted it? im sure so many more people are worse off than us but does it make it right to cut you off of a source which is needed to survive? i rarely used my heat this year i had to dress my child in thick clothes as well as us just to keep warm and my bills are still high as ever. i only used the heater cause i was afraid the pipes would freeze over, i am just shocked about this i am only 25 yrs old and it is so hard for just starting families.

After receiving my BGE bill on friday, I found your blog. I have a 3 bedrm rancher in Glen Burnie and my electric bill is 1022.44 for one month. How to pay it? I worry about many in my community with less income than I have. Where is the outrage? Have we just become complacent? The publicity, the rallying, the outcry of last year seems to have petered out.

After receiving my BGE bill on friday, I found your blog. I have a 3 bedrm rancher in Glen Burnie and my electric bill is 1022.44 for one month. How to pay it? I worry about many in my community with less income than I have. Where is the outrage? Have we just become complacent? The publicity, the rallying, the outcry of last year seems to have petered out.

Despite adjusting to living in less than comfortable temperatures by lowering all thermostats, using space heating, etc. the BGE bills for our modest 1300 sq ft home are OUT OF CONTROL. We have energy efficient appliances, added insulation and replacement windows last year, do not run the dishwasher, don't even run ANY A/C in the summer, have 15 watt bulbs and yet astronomical electric bills. In nearly 20 years of paying BGE bills, the past few years have been ridiculously out of proportion to usage.

Commiserating (complaining) online likely will not change anything --- the "options" BGE gives for homeowners struggling to pay bills are laughable (they solicit other customers to contribute to fuel funds and suggest "budget billing" which simply means paying them the exact same amount just in equal installments - how does that help?!)

. However, if anyone out there is willing to test appliances / meters, perhaps we can determine the source of the problem. With any reliable evidence and a class action lawsuit, this just might turn the tide. Anyone have devices for testing meters?

Yes, you can get testers.Guess where? From BG&E!!! I bet that tester would prove nothing. How convenient.

I just got a new BGE connection in June 2010 for a 1 BR apt I moved into. I have no roommates. My last reading was 466 kwh and costed about 77 dollars.

My use of electricity is rather limited. I use a window AC for 1-2 hrs( never liked ACs much) and during the week, I use the dishwasher 1-2 times, laptop, various fans, bulbs etc. The refrigerator, dishwasher and stove are brand new and energy star certified. I have a 3 gallon aquarium that runs continuously. i unplug laptop and cell phone chargers when not in use. I called BGE and they said that my usage was actually low!

I am at my wits end! I would welcome nay suggestions.

I moved away from the "Peoples Republic Of Maryland" in January of 2010. Energy prices, automobile insurance rates, ridiculous housing prices, crime, sanctuary city policies, terrible schools, high taxes and violation of second amendment rights to concealed carry were all reasons why I left. There are other places to live folks. Solve your problem now. Move away from Maryland.

BGE is corrupt. I went off grid, and they kept sending me bills claiming meter readings and power usage for over a year. THEY disconnected the meter and THEY cut the main lines from the POLE. THOUSANDS of dollars of bills for power that we not just werent using, but COULDNT be using. They did the same thing to the City of Baltimore for a building that had been disconnected from the grid for years. Almost a quarter of a million dollars on those bills (this was years ago, and even made some of the papers).

We actually wanted to do a grid-tie system in the early 2000's after laws were passed to make them buy back the excess. We were told we'd not get paid, because laws were not yet passed telling them HOW they should make payments to us (ummm, check is fine - or even a credit on the next bill).

There was a business I worked at years ago in Baltimore. We had $300-$400mo bills. Stopped using the massive bank of overhead florescents AND stopped using the 6 300W halogen lamps. Replaced that lighting with 5 14W fluorescent lamps. All other power usage was the same (24/7 servers running... well, 24/7 - since DAY ONE). Our bill went up to over $1200/month. No amount of arguing or complaining changed that.