BGE Bills Out Of Control
*WARNING* This post contains strong language.
Wow. Here at The HON headquarters, we’re getting PUMMELED by BGE’s new higher rates (click the image to the left to see for yourself). $401.66 to be precise. Thanks to the Democratic Legislature of Maryland, and Martin O’Malley’s broken promises (or flat out lies if you prefer), we’re canceling our annual trip to Ocean City.
After next year’s gasoline and sales tax hikes, coupled with an increase in property and income tax, we’ll be blogging on the streets, and eating cold beans from a can. When will the MD politicians realize that us common folk CAN NOT AFFORD THIS SHIT. ENOUGH ALREADY ANNAPOLIS. The citizens of MD are suffering, and you’re all millionaires. SCREW EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU WHO LET US ALL DOWN.
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POST A COMMENTPosted on Thursday, July 26th, 2007 at 9:45 pm.
Categories: Maryland, Energy, Corruption, BGE.
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401? wow. Mine was 275. I thought that was pretty high.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:14 pmI had a $65 increase. $213 total.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:25 pmUnfortunately, this middle-class Marylander had to change jobs because, as a commissioned salesperson, when everybody is worried about gasoline prices, higher BGE bills,, higher food bills,, they don’t open up their wallets for the things I sold. (not luxury items, just furniture). My income dropped by 30% before I had to leave a job that I loved. If Governor O’Malley thinks we are all recession-proof, think again. I cut every bit of excess out of MY budget, and soon found that it still wasn’t enough. AND I’m a college grad, to boot! He needs to get out and talk to real people, with real jobs. We’re NOT MAKING IT! And we can’t afford higher taxes.
July 27th, 2007 at 11:17 pmThanks for all of the comments folks. I think Kathy has stated it quite eloquently. The MD Government is currently trying to squeeze blood from us stones. O’Malley’s solution? Turn off the lights when you leave the room. Sorry Martin, it’s just not that simple. There is an assault on the middle class going on as we speak. We need to be a “vocal majority” if we have any hopes of stopping the hikes to come.
July 28th, 2007 at 8:46 amComcast should be pissed off at BGE. I canceled my cable TV service to help make up the difference in my electric bill. Something’s got to give since we’re not able to tell our employers to raise our salaries. It seems that our government has forgotten they work for us, not the other way around.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:41 amDon says “Something’s got to give since we’re not able to tell our employers to raise our salaries”. Excellent point, Don. The millionaires in Annapolis tend to forget that tax/fee increases hurt the middle class. When prices get higher, they don’t even flinch.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:51 amDon,
July 31st, 2007 at 11:30 amThe PCS has approved decoupling so big power doesnt lose money so turning off the lights isn’t a fix either
Last year, in anticipation of the huge BGE increase, I started hanging my laundry outside, only use cold water to wash, turned down the hot water heater until it’s barely warm enough to take a shower, all but stopped baking, stopped using the dishwasher, have my AC set at 80+ degrees, turned off every light unless absolutely necessary, stopped using the dehumidifyer, ETC, ETC, ETC.
Since the rate increase my BGE bill has jumped over $60.00 a month and I’m living like this?!! Mr. O’Malley - I can’t conserve anymore!
Decouple this…
August 8th, 2007 at 6:59 pmOne of my “liberal” co-workers was complaining the other night about how since O’Gov has starting looking under every rock that we have had major cutbacks on overtime (lower middle-class state employee) and how he can’t afford his electric bill. I think I may have snapped…I went on a 3 minute tirade about how he should shut the h*ll up. He voted for O’Crook and he gets what he wanted.
I think I might need therapy, but I am expecting our state benefits to be cut next….
August 15th, 2007 at 10:45 amlast year budget plan $195.00. August this year $361.00. Someone else will suffer. increase in taxes yet to come. Tales of Government gone mad. As soon as the politicians gather the land they need then casinos and slots will be next. Where is my cut. pissed.
September 27th, 2007 at 4:12 pmHi,
I’d just like to say that whomever started this site - KUDOS! It is a start, albeit a grain of sand in the desert. No disrespect intended. The name that appears is my real name. I live in Harford County Maryland, and some action must be mounted to at least get a handle on what we are buying??!! How many that stumble through this blog understand the components of their bills?? How many have the “Digital 3 Tier” meters??
Well, I used to be able to answer YES to both questions. Now, luckily only 1! If you have the 3 tier meter… You are being SCREWED! Point Blank! Im writing this after I’ve spent 9 months getting BGE to remove my Digital Meter, and replace it with an understandable whirling disk… Good Ol’Time METER! And, yes you have this right! File a complaint with the Maryland Public Service Commission, demanding that your meter be replaced… By law , they have to replace it.
Since I have my meter replaced, my electric bill, has dropped by 1/3! I have filed with MPSC, and requested an audit because of the large descrepenty between what I’m using now , and what I was being charged for with the 3 tier digital meter.
You can request a referee test… for 10 bucks. MPSC official will come, along with a BGE REP. This is where it got interesting! After the MPSC employee left, I befriended the BGE employee, and he said “I shudder at the thought og having one of those digital meters! I would NEVER have one” Now what does that tell you!
Only 10% of Marylanders have the digital meter, and that is because of new construction, and replacements. But, if BGE had their way… Everyone would be on the digital FU meter!
So, file your complaints if you have the digital meters, and demand the analog meter… This is a start! And, at least the bill will be an honest representation! The cost of a KWH… when I come back to write again!!
November 6th, 2007 at 8:07 amThanks for the kudos JD. And thanks for the tips. Unfortunately, here at The HON World Headquarters, we have the old school whirling disc style meter. We haven’t had a bill under $400 since the increase.
November 6th, 2007 at 6:51 pmGuess BGE is out of control on the environment, too. Will they be happy when they cut down all the trees in the city and county? And note that “our” government officials are claiming they cannot do a thing about BGE running wild with chain saws.
November 21st, 2007 at 6:29 pmI got my bill today- $437.31 . This is absurd! How does BGE expect the average person to pay bills like this?
November 30th, 2007 at 12:05 amWe recently received our BGE bill and it was more than triple the usage from our bill last month (from 888kwh to 2707kwh)and double this time last year. We haven’t done anything different. We also have a digital meter, something we were not aware of as our neighbors have analog meters. How do we go about getting this replaced with an analog one? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks.
December 13th, 2007 at 11:14 amTo SOM;
The very first thing you want to do is go to MPSC website - Maryland Public Service Commission - look around for the file a complaint form - AND FILE IT! Dispute the meter charges for whatever period you like. What this will do is lock down the disputed charges until resolution - meaning you don’t have to pay them for about 12 weeks; about how long it takes. Next, after you receive your letter in the mail from MPSC is request a refereed meter test, and in your letter with application for test clearly state - that regardless of the test result that you are aware of your legal rights, and you want the digital meter removed, and replaced with the spinning disk - analog meter. They have to honor your request. The referee test cost $10.00; if the meter is found to be out of calibration more than 2% they will refund that fee. Before test - take your video camera if you have one, otherwise still pics will do. Record your meter readings through the cycles it displays so that you will have a record when they take it away. If the meter has any discrepancies what so ever! There are laws that require them to adjust your bill to as many as 5 years, and that can be a substantial refund to you!
But yes… these criminals need to be made to answer - this blog is a small start - after you get your criminal meter ripped out - you really need to tell everyone you talk to that they can by LAW get the digital meter ripped out! I truly believe an incredible amount of theft is occurring with the digital F***YOU METERS! GOOD LUCK!
December 18th, 2007 at 10:19 amI just got my recent bill - $460! Pretty sad. Last month it was $340. CRAZY!
January 4th, 2008 at 5:10 pmI received my gas & electric. $323 for the Month of December. That is up over $100 from last year. The odd things was there was no comparison between December 06 usage and December 07 usage. It was an acutal reading, but didn’t give a whole lot of information on the bill……
January 12th, 2008 at 1:45 pmLast November my usage jumped 20% over my usage from a year prior and was higher than almost any other month ever. The weather was warmer that November than the prior year and I had just replaced all my windows and installed a new furnace. I complained to BGE and they said they would inspect the meter. No one came into my home but BGE said they did inspect the meter and that it was functioning properly. I can’t explain the spike, they can’t explain the spike but I should did have to pay. Nice eh?
January 15th, 2008 at 12:58 pmThank you for the advice. I am going to contact the PSC and file a complaint. I asked BGE to remove the digital meter and they said it would take 2 billing cycles. I received my January bill and the usage is still astronomical, more than last year, which makes absolutely no sense considering the fact that we installed a more energy efficient HVAC system back in May. I contacted BGE (again) about the high bill and asked when they would replace my meter and said that “they only replace them in batches” and that I could not get it replaced. They said that the reason I had a digital meter is because of the type of billing I’m on. I’m not on any type of special billing at all. BTW my neighbor’s usage for the same bill was 1/2 of mine. We live in identical townhomes, how on earth are we using twice as much electricity? Nice, huh?
January 18th, 2008 at 10:59 amwe bough a pellet stove and live on a slab cape cod home ..modest in size and I don’t leave lights on and etc. The electric heat has not been on once this winter , and my last bill was still $470.00 !! ansd I now have a digital meter , I didn’t know they were bad…I guess im screwed !
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:49 pmNO joke- my house is all electric, and although my consumption use went up slightly since this time last year, my bill more than DOUBLED in amount owed! What used to be an average of $250 a month in the winter is now $540. And my house is a mere 2000 sf, so pity the people with larger homes. This is insane; the Dumocrats in the Gov’nors office and legislature are ignoring this matter completely while the rest of us have to make sacrifices. Maryland is expensive enough to live in; we’re over taxed and under spent on consumer assistance. Thanks for doing nothing to change the PSC, O’Malley. I can sleep better knowing I didn’t vote for you.
January 31st, 2008 at 9:17 amI cannot thank you enough for posting this information! I just ran outside to check and I do have a digital meter. My electric bill is so high that I can’t even fathom the cause. I have filed a complaint with the MD PSC. I owe BGE over $800 for December and January, and part of November. I can’t afford it so I am only paying in chunks. I just hope that no one turns off my service. My already incendiary anger towards the O’Gov/Teflon Leprechaun has flared once again.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:30 pmSame as you all here! Our consumption went up slightly over year’s past… this time last year our bill was around $400 and now, we just got our latest bill and it’s $800!!! Our house is less than 3 years old and most things are energy efficient. What gives?!? I’m definitely going to have BGE come out and perform an audit on our system. Last time I checked 3500kw X .16 equalled a LOT less than what they are billing us for.
February 4th, 2008 at 3:03 pmBG&E removed my analog (Westinghouse) meter on 1/3/08 and put on one of their “new” digital meters. My usage immediately doubled. When I questioned the increase, I was told (1) my old analog meter had been slowing down and reading incorrectly and (2) the new digital meter had been tested in their shop and was accurate. When I informed BG&E that my usage had gone down in 2002 when I purchased new energy efficient appliances, the response was that their digital meter is accurate and that is all they are required to do. When I asked if they tested the old meter before they removed it, I was told that they cannot afford to test every old meter. In terms of the increased usage, BG&E suggested that I may have a “runaway” appliance in my house which may account for the increase. When I asked when their test machine for testing meters was last calibrated and by whom, I was told that they cannot provide me with that information. Theyt will test the digital meter at my house on 2/18/08, but in the meantime I have filed a complaint with the MPSC. I will pursue the installation of an analog meter for my house based on what information I have received on this superb web site. Thanks and lets stand together on this issue and beat down “big brothers” attempt to empty our wallets into their coffers.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:10 pmI cannot believe BG&E is getting away with this!!!Isn’t there some sort of watchdog group out there that can get to the bottom of this and do something about it. Our bills are between 4 or six hundred dollars every month and we keep our house cold in the winter and hot in the summer. For these prices we should at least be comfortable in our homes! It is absolutely highway robbery. I don’t know if I should blame BG&E, Constellation Energy, Martin O’Malley or Paris Glendenning or perhaps, all of the above.
February 10th, 2008 at 7:46 pmBG&E read my new digital meter at my house and told me that the meter was reading accurately. In other words, my BG&E bill has doubled simply by replacng my mechanical meter with a digital one. According to BG&E, the digital meter is providing me with an accurate reading. My next approach is to ask for a new analog (mechanical) meter instead of the digital one.
February 19th, 2008 at 9:55 amHi
February 26th, 2008 at 8:11 pmI was wondering what mpsc was? I would like to lodge a complaint as my bills have spiked with the install of this digital meters..thanks
L, I totally agree with you, if you find that watchdog group please let me know. I’ve been in the same house for 25 years, and my BGE bills have been consistent. For 25 years I used maybe 150 kwh in the month of Feb. Now they are telling me I used 2500 kwh in a 30 day period! My life style has not change how could kwh change? I fear what this summer with bring. If I pay $350. in the cheap month of Feb. What is my bill going to be when the a/c is running 24/7? HELP!
February 27th, 2008 at 9:07 pmYou know it’s pretty amazing that last year at this time I payed $120 for my electric bill. To our suprise we opened the bill for the month of March and about had a heart attack. Our bill was $500 dollars. And BGE is not done with there rate increases. It’s a crying shame that our great government is doing absolutely nothing about this. It’s also unfortunate that no matter how much we complain about it, no one is going to do anything about it. We might as well keep grabbing our ankles.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:56 pmi am suffering with BGE’s increase i am paying like 125.00 more than i use to last year at this time… It’s hard when you have a fixed budget… ITS INSANE…
March 24th, 2008 at 3:34 pmi am suffering with BGE’s increase i am paying like 125.00 more than i use to last year at this time… It’s hard when you have a fixed budget… ITS INSANE…
March 24th, 2008 at 3:34 pmFunny, I see the ad at the top of the page to apply for LHEAP…well apparently it’s a HEAP of crap! I’m a divorced mom of 4 kids, working 2 jobs, making 21000 year……I have applied every year for the past 4 years for Energy assistance. I applied when Energy Assistance sent ME an application in August like they always do. I copied all the docs they requested, sent them off in a big envelope. I waited until November to call about my status. Got a recording that said no funds will be released until Decemeber. Fine, I call back in December. Get voice mail. Call again, voice mail is full. FINALLY after calling EVERY day for a month I get a person on the line. She listens to me, tells me she will PERSONALLY walk my application to the DIRECTOR and give it to her herself. Still nothing. 2months and 800 dollars later. I AGAIN give up hope of getting a reply and REAPPLY to Energy Assistance. I take my application IN PERSON to the Community Action (what a joke of a name) Agency in Annapolis on January 23rd at 2pm. I am told they only take walk in apps. from 8-12 (what a PERFECT schedule for the working person to work with)BUT she will take my application and it will be reviewed the next day. She TIME AND DATE stamps it in front of me and my 17 yr old daughter I took as a witness. Fast forward 9 more weeks later, I receive a turnoff notice from BGE with an amount owed of 250.00. I start calling immediately on FRIDAY and again, well no one apparently works there on Friday because ALL THE MAILBOXES ARE FULL!! Now I’m going to have to take a day off from 2 jobs that I NEED to pay this damn BGE bill, to try to get the help they so eloquently profess is out there and no one is taking advantage of! I qualify based on income level, I get food stamps, I support 4 children and yet apparently I am doing something wrong and would like to know what it is but I can’t get anyone to help me!
March 30th, 2008 at 9:52 amNow our house is all electric. Our BGE bill went from $285 in Dec-Jan to $457 in Jan-Feb (That’s with our heat at only 55-60) to $407 Feb-Mar (That’s with no heat, everything unplugged except the refriderator, stove, and microwave.) So we were late on the last bill so BGE were very nice and sent it to us again plus another two weeks added on… The new bill is $702. Still no heat, and I can’t afford it. We watch tv for about 4 hours a weeks. I can’t afford to buy food. We contacted BGE to check out our meter, because this is unbelievable. It is getting to the point where I can’t afford rent. What can I do? I was okay with my toes going numb with no heat, but what am I going to do when it is 100 degrees outside and I can’t afford A/C. Die?
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:35 pmI need help. I have 3 children and am pregnant. My husband simply is not making enough to cover the bills with the BGE hike and gas prices. 2 months ago I went and applied to get halp paying my then cut off notice for BGE in the amount of $1100. They made it so that BGE could not disconnect me for 55 days, I got two grants, one was applied to Budget Billing and the other was to take care of the cut off notice. Unfortunately, the state has run out of funds, never informing me at all and my cut off notice is back and scheduled for June 13th. I have called every place I know of to try and get help. I’m not affiliated with any churches so I am feeling hopeless. Does anyone know who I can call? I’m desperate. We are barely making out rent, have turned off our cable and my internet is free. We barely have any money left to eat at the end of the month after paying rent. Any help is greatly appreciated.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:38 amAs a single mother, I have always taken pride that although I do not make that much money, I was able to take care of my child, provide shelter, have a good job with almost decent pay, and able to pay all of my bills on time. My BGE bill jumped from $85 a month, to $110, and then out of no where $355. I received my first (EVER) turn off notice. I am right at the line where I make literally a couple of bucks too much to qualify for any assistance (and thats only because they go by your gross and not what you actually bring home - which is crazy to me. )
I know you are trying to redo the streets in Columbia and use over 1 million dollars to put new doors in ONE school and whatever crap you are using my money for but come on. We are struggling here. I am not asking for any public assistance. I am asking for you to stop taking my money so I can assist myself.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:17 pm