House Economic Matters Committee holds hearing on the Ratepayer Protection Act

On Thursday, February 6th, the House Economic Matters Committee held a hearing on Del. Embry’s Ratepayer Protection Act, which has support of Maryland PIRG, the Office of the People’s Counsel, Maryland Energy Adminisistration, Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Maryland Department of the Environment, MD AARP, and dozens of state and local groups.

The Maryland Public Service Commission testified in support of the bill with some amendments to address concerns over the notification process.

During the hearing legislators grilled BGE on its gas pipeline spending and profit motive. Committee Chair C.T. Wilson pressed the gas utilities to explain why they needed additional financial incentives to maintain the safety of the gas system. The Chair explained that the proposed bull aims to make sure any investments are necessary, because they won’t be born by the utility, they will be born by the ratepayer.

“It’s a modest bill and it makes modest changes to the current law to ensure that gas infrastructure work that is billed to our utility customers is actually necessary to ensure safety and uses the most cost effective tools to do so,” Del. Embry explained in the hearing

“The issue with gas delivery and STRIDE overall is, ratepayers have become ATMs and gas utilities have their PINs,” Laurel Peltier, who assists low-income ratepayers through her work for AARP, told Maryland Matters

The hearing was covered by Maryland Matters and WBFF.

You can support the effort by telling your state elected officials to support the Ratepayer Protection Act: