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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2022 |
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People’s Counsel Applauds Rejection of Utility Request to End Pandemic Protections for Utility Customers
BALTIMORE – The Office of People’s Counsel welcomed today’s Public Service Commission order that retains safeguards for utility customers and utility reporting requirements initially put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are pleased with the Commission’s decision to deny the utilities’ request to end important customer protections,” said People’s Counsel David S. Lapp. “Customers—especially lower-income customers—continue to suffer economically from the pandemic. With inflation and rising natural gas prices, utility bills continue to be a challenge for many customers, and added protections continue to be necessary.”
The Commission’s order responded to a utility request to end all pandemic customer protections adopted in 2020. These protections included a 45-day notice to consumers before residential terminations; a requirement to provide 12-month payment plans for customers in arrears and 24 months for customers on energy assistance; a prohibition on requiring down payments as a condition for a payment plan; and a prohibition on refusing to negotiate a payment plan for residential customers that had failed to comply with a payment plan over the previous 18 months.
The Commission’s order issued today:
- reduces the 45-day notice period to 30 days;
- continues the requirement for 12-month payment plans while dropping the 24-month plans for energy assistance customers;
- maintains the prohibition on down payments for payment plans; and
- eliminates the added protection for customers who failed to comply with a previous payment plan.
OPC had opposed any relaxation of the pandemic protections in favor of further study on utility payment and collection practices in light of the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and current economic conditions. Although the Commission’s order relaxes certain protections, key protections are maintained pending further analysis.
Utility customers are facing rising gas and electricity bills as a result of increasing gas prices. The commodity price of gas today is more than triple what it was three years ago for BGE customers, for example, while the price of delivering the gas also continues to rise each year.
“We are especially pleased that the Commission has retained the across-the-state requirement that utilities offer customers one-year payment plans,” Lapp said. “The universal requirement provides a clear and consistent protection for utility customers across the State. We look forward to exploring the data further to determine what protections are necessary in light of the dire economic situations of many customers throughout the State.”
The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel is an independent state agency that represents Maryland’s residential consumers of electric, natural gas, telecommunications, private water and certain transportation matters before the Public Service Commission, federal regulatory agencies and the courts.
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