Many of us in Bolton Hill live in large, often drafty homes or apartments, and so we’re accustomed to, if not happy about, exorbitant utility bills in addition to high city and state taxes. But the double-whammy of a big bump in city water and sewer bill rates, paired with BGE’s surprisingly high winter gas and electric charges, has lots of neighborhood ratepayers groaning. What’s it all about and what, if anything, can be done?
First the water and sewer bills from the Department of Public Works (DPW): water rates went up 3 percent and sewer charges by 15 percent effective Feb. 1. So, while you may feel like those bills already are out of reach, stand by — the new rates just clicked in. Meanwhile in January and early February alone, three separate water main breaks provoked by freezing weather led to flooding on Lafayette Avenue, Park Avenue and W. North Avenue. DPW contractors have been quick to respond and repair the leaks.
According to DPW, their rate increase is needed “to maintain the financial sustainability of the city’s aging water and wastewater infrastructure. This rate adjustment will fund essential capital investments required to meet federal and state regulatory standards, address rising inflation-related costs, and ensure the continued delivery of vital water and wastewater services.”
The Board of Estimates, which is controlled by the mayor, approved a multi-year rate adjustment on Jan. 22. In addition to these adjustments, DPW has proposed further rate increases for each of the next two years. More on that at https://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/water-sewer-rate-increases. The City has an income-based Water4All Discount Program and a deferred payment plan for those who qualify. Call 410-396-9500 for details.
And those BGE bills?
Combined with increased gas or electricity use (depending on your heating source) because of cold temperatures, customers are experiencing larger bills than usual this winter. On BHCA’s Facebook page, a resident of Beethoven Apartments said her BGE bill was $1,600 for her one-bedroom unit over two months. Another wrote: “Mine was almost $500 last month and I have a 1350-sq-ft home that I keep at 60 during the day when I’m not home.” And a third person: “Usually the bill is around $400 for a very cold month. This month’s bill is $1200!”
According to experts, three things are at play:
(1) Higher electric and gas supply costs to BGE are being passed through to consumers, which the law allows them to do. And, of course, (2) it is winter. But in addition, (3) BGE is investing heavily in upgrading underground gas pipes and is passing on that cost, as well. Some have questioned whether, given the state’s determination to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, these expensive new lines are justifiable.
According to the Office of the People’s Counsel, a state watchdog: “Your energy bill is going up mostly because the costs BGE charges to deliver gas and electricity to your home have been rising significantly in recent years. Excessive cold or hot temperatures also drive up your bill because you use more energy to heat or cool your home.
“Since 2020, BGE’s gas delivery charges—to pay for the gas distribution system, not the gas itself—have increased 50 percent. Since 2010, gas rates increased from 26 cents per therm to 90 cents per therm, nearly three times the inflation rate. A therm is the unit used to measure how much gas you use in your home. Gas rates will rise to 94 cents per therm in 2026.
“Supply costs—the other major components of your gas and electric bills that are separate from distribution costs—can go up and down from year-to-year. Higher gas supply costs also are contributing to increased bills compared to a year ago. For winter 2024, BGE’s gas supply costs were about 45 cents per therm; so far in 2025 they are about 56 cents per therm. BGE’s supply cost for electricity in winter 2025 is about the same as 2024.”
Given BGE’s electricity rate increases, customers could see high bills in the summer as well, according to OPC. For still more information, much of it grim, go to the OPC’s website.
The city council, which was docile about DPW’s big rate increase, has leapt into action to protest BGE’s rate jumps. New Council Chair Zeke Cohen scheduled a hearing. “We will demand better from Baltimore Gas and Electric,” Cohen said. But the City does not control BGE rates.
State assembly Del. Marlon Amprey (D), whose 40th district includes Bolton Hill, has called on the Maryland Public Service Commission to “impose an immediate and indefinite moratorium on [utility] rate increases.” The commission approved a three-year, $408 million rate hike in 2023, yet BGE asked for another $150 million in price increases just months later, Amprey and other delegates noted.
Another Baltimore delegate, Elizabeth Embry (D), introduced legislation to tackle Baltimore Gas and Electric’s rate hikes on natural gas. She blamed the increases mostly on 2013 state legislation called the Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement (STRIDE) Act. That law encouraged utility companies to replace aging gas infrastructure, allowing them to add a monthly surcharge to customer bills to recover the costs of projects. Embry said the STRIDE Act intended to improve safety by preventing gas leaks, but instead “it has been used to just replace gas infrastructure wholesale.”
Embry’s proposal, the Ratepayer Protection Act, would require utility companies like BGE to provide the Maryland Public Service Commission with more detail about proposed infrastructure replacement projects. It’s not clear that, if it passed, that act would bring down rates, but it might slow future increases. BGE said Baltimore has the oldest natural gas pipeline system in the country and it needs upgrading. BGE’s “Operation Pipeline” is a multi-year project upgrading cast iron and steel pipes with more durable plastic gas pipelines.
At BHCA’s February meeting city council member James Torrence, whose district includes the northern half of Bolton hill, suggested that residents should email Del. Embry to convey support for the bill. For its part, BGE says it is waiving late fees and temporarily suspending service disconnections and will work out other payment arrangements. Call 1-800-685-0123.
–Bill Hamilton
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