Feb 21, 2010 (The Baltimore Sun - McClatchy Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Howard County resident Mark D. Case saved a bundle by dumping Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and signing on with an alternative electricity supplier. He points out that residents could save about 10 percent or more by doing the same.
He should know. He's a top executive with BGE.
"It's still one of the best-kept secrets in Maryland, and that's unfortunate," said Case, the company's senior vice president of strategy and regulatory affairs.
Maryland deregulated the power business more than a decade ago to allow residential and commercial consumers to sign contracts to lock in lower electricity prices with an alternative supplier, potentially cutting their monthly bills. But for years, residential consumers had few options other than the utilities, and few switched even after rate caps were lifted in 2006, making it easier to find better deals.
That trend appears to be changing, albeit at a glacial pace.
Only about 5 percent of the 1.1 million residential customers in BGE's service territory in the city and surrounding counties had switched to an alternative supplier as of January. While that's double the percentage that had done so a year earlier, it's still only a sliver of the residential market.
and industrial customers have opted for an alternative supplier. More residents are expected to shop around as more suppliers have entered the market and as programs are put in place to encourage consumers to examine their options. Other possible factors behind the newfound urge to shop for electricity: the long, cold stretches that led to bigger utility bills last winter, a faltering economy that has prompted more budget scrutiny or the desire to get power from environmentally friendly energy sources.
In contrast, nearly a third of commercial
BGE Home, owned by BGE parent Constellation Energy, announced in January that it would start offering contracts, and Dominion Retail recently revived its alternative service in Maryland. BGE, which makes its money by distributing electricity, no matter who supplies it, also ran TV ads about electric choice last year.
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