High temperatures and rising utility distribution rates likely to drive up electric bills this summer, new OPC consumer guide shows
Correction: The June 6 Consumer Guide used supply costs that (except for Potomac Edison) did not accurately reflect supply costs for June 2025. The guide has been corrected for actual June 2025 supply costs, and the total bill estimates for Pepco in the fourth paragraph of the press release below have been corrected. OPC regrets the errors.
BALTIMORE – Higher than normal summer temperatures and rising distribution rates will likely cause high electric bills for Maryland households this summer, according to a new Consumer’s Guide to Summer 2025 Electric Rates released today by the Office of People’s Counsel.
Most Maryland customers will not be impacted this summer by the drastic 800 percent price spike in the “capacity market” auction. PJM Interconnection, LLC runs the capacity auction to ensure electric system reliability. Those cost increases—which OPC is challenging—are scheduled for later in the year, the guide explains.
OPC’s guide breaks down the bill components of each of the State’s largest electric utilities and shows that electric distribution (or “delivery”) rates for some Maryland utilities have risen much faster than for other utilities. In particular, the distribution rates for Pepco and Delmarva Power have more than doubled and BGE’s rates have almost doubled since 2010. These increases have resulted in high distribution rates that will drive up bills when usage increases over the summer.
Customers can use the guide to estimate their summer monthly bills. Total bills depend mostly on which utility serves the customer and how much electricity is used. For example, a Pepco customer that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours will pay about $237 and about $466 for 2,000 kWhs. A Potomac Edison customer will pay about $141 for 1,000 kWhs and about $276 for 2,000 kWhs.
Supply costs show up as one charge on customer bills but are made of several different charges. The guide explains the main components of supply costs—including energy, capacity, and transmission system costs—and how they have changed over time. Transmission system costs have more than doubled in the past decade.
One such transmission system cost is the $180 million in costs—to be paid each year for about four years—that Maryland customers will pay Talen Energy, the owner of the Brandon Shores and Wagner power plants near Baltimore. The payments are to keep the plants on-line for reliability purposes and will be reflected in summer rates, the guide explains. Most of those costs will be paid by BGE customers.
As part of the recently enacted Next Generation Energy Act, the guide notes, customers will receive a bill credit this summer of about $40 to help offset rising utility bills.
The guide also addresses misperceptions about “resource adequacy,” which is a measurement of whether Maryland has enough electricity generation to “keep the lights on.” Available information shows that Maryland has sufficient in-state generation and transmission capacity to meet peak electric demands, although the forecasts of massive growth in electricity demand from data centers outside of Maryland—if they come to fruition—could impact all or parts of the 13 states and District of Columbia that are part of PJM, including Maryland. BGE’s peak demand projected for 2045, the guide points out, is less than the peak demand BGE met in 2011.
“Most Maryland customers should prepare for high utility bills this summer,” said Maryland People’s Counsel David S. Lapp. “High bills are significantly impacted by how much electricity is used, and we encourage customers to consider both short- and long-term actions to reduce their consumption and save on their electric bills.”
For information on finding help to pay your utility bills, see OPC’s Get Help pages.
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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