2008 Legislative Wrap-up: Constellation deal wins Maryland Assembly

In the final hours of the legislative session, lawmakers approved a settlement that won Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. ratepayers one- time rebates of $170 and avoided further litigation between the utility's parent company and Maryland.

The agreement nearly died when the Senate tacked on an amendment calling for the regulation of new power plants built in the state. But the House of Delegates stripped the Senate amendment from the bill, and the Senate acquiesced.

The state's agreement with Constellation Energy Group Inc., which settled lawsuits between the two parties, included a stipulation that no legislation passed this session could interfere with the terms of the settlement.

The settlement will save BGE customers $1.5 billion in future costs for the dismantling of the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant and allows Constellation more freedom to sell stock to utility investors.

A raft of energy bills surfaced in Annapolis this session after a Public Service Commission report unleashed concerns over statewide energy shortages and overtaxed transmission lines.

The assembly approved Gov. Martin O'Malley's EmPOWER Maryland bill which codifies energy efficiency and puts into law a goal of reducing energy consumption by 15 percent by 2015. The bill requires utilities to promote energy conservation and offer services designed to meet energy reduction targets.

Another bill would require utilities to notify customers at least once a year of any charges affecting them in connection with conservation programs.

The Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Fund will invest in renewable energy, climate change programs and energy efficiency programs through the sale of carbon allowances that power plants will have to buy to counteract their carbon dioxide emissions.

"I think it's a victory for the environment and a victory for consumers. The energy efficiency bills ... are going to save consumers $4.1 billion by 2020," said Johanna E. Neumann, state director of the Maryland Public Interest Research Group.

Utilities also will have to diversify their energy sources to include more renewable energy so at least 20 percent of the state's energy portfolio is renewable.

One measure that did not pass was O'Malley's plan to reduce emissions by 90 percent in 2050, a bill that frightened union members with the threat of job losses. Opponents said the bill did not lay out specifics on how the state would meet such stringent goals.

Brandon Farris, director of policy and legislative affairs for the Maryland Energy Administration, said other efficiency programs could have played into the global warming plan.

"If that were to have passed, basically EmPOWER Maryland would have been one of the first steps in achieving global warming solutions," he said.

Two other energy bills did not pass. One would have created a task force to study gasoline zone pricing, which allows oil companies to sell gas at various prices depending on the location of a station.

The other would have forced Constellation to refund ratepayers the $528 million it collected for taking on BGE's nuclear power plants in the deregulation deal before the PSC would approve the company's plans to build new nuclear reactors in the state.

Copyright 2008 Dolan Media Newswires
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