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Leaders Urge PSC to Freeze BGE Rate Hike After Watchdog Cites $19 Billion Pipeline Tab

BGE rejects the report, insisting its program prioritizes the riskiest pipes.

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State, city and environmental leaders met in front of Baltimore City Hall to challenge BGE’s Operation Pipeline, calling the infrastructure replacement project a way to please investors at the behest of customers. (Luke Parker/Staff)
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Overview

  • A Maryland PIRG Foundation analysis alleges BGE’s gas pipeline program could cost customers about $19–19.5 billion over time and has helped push delivery charges sharply higher since 2010.
  • The watchdog says BGE’s 2025 project list emphasizes low-to-medium pressure conversions, with only a third of reviewed projects citing risk scores or direct replacement of cast-iron and bare-steel mains.
  • Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen and Del. Elizabeth Embry urged the Maryland Public Service Commission to use newly expanded oversight to scrutinize spending and pause a January rate increase.
  • BGE counters that it is replacing the riskiest 12% of its system, reports a roughly 20% reduction in cast-iron mains over five years and nearly halved underground leaks, and says 85% of its 2025 work abandons cast-iron mains.
  • The company characterizes the $19 billion estimate as a long-range forecast dependent on future regulatory approvals, and regulators have not announced any action.