State lawmakers on Wednesday blasted Baltimore Gas and Electric during an Annapolis hearing on the high cost of energy as a company representative blamed pricey bills on an unusually cold winter.

Representatives from Maryland utility companies BGE, Pepco, the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, and Washington Gas met with members of the Maryland House Economic Matters and Senate Education, Energy and the Environment committees Wednesday afternoon. They pointed to lower-than-usual temperatures and increased usage as the cause for skyrocketing bills.

They said that, because it’s getting warmer, ratepayers should see relief on their wallets in the coming months.

With the knowledge that hot summer months are on the horizon, legislators were unimpressed.

“I don’t know if you thought it was providing, maybe, some kind of relief, but summer is coming, and what’s to stop us from not being right back where we were?” House Economic Matters Committee Chair C.T. Wilson, a Charles County Democrat, said to the panel of representatives.

Tom Dennison, the government and public affairs director for the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, said customers will see an increase in prices again during the hottest parts of the year because of the upcoming capacity auction that PJM, which runs the energy grid Maryland is connected to, will hold. He said that the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative is anticipating a $15 monthly energy generation rate hike.

“I didn’t mean to try to say that there’s relief that’s going to happen in the summertime, because I think usage will be up again,” said Dennison.

In an attempt to lower rates in the long term and make Maryland more energy independent, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson are sponsoring the New Generation Energy Act, a multifaceted bill that seeks to lower Maryland’s dependence on other states, reduce the need to build additional transmission lines, and allow the state to determine which sources — like natural gas, nuclear, solar, or other generation — its energy comes from.

Del. Chris Adams, an Eastern Shore Republican, asked the panel if the bill is the appropriate step to reduce energy prices.

Charles Washington, BGE’s vice president of government and external affairs, said the leadership package is “a strong step in the right direction.”

“It’s our view that Maryland would benefit greatly from more in-state generation,” he said. “I think that anything you all can do to incentivize the market to come and bring new generation … in the state is a strong step in the right direction.”

Baltimore Democratic Sen. Dalya Attar’s constituents have reported unreasonably high bills in recent months from BGE, which serves 1.3 million electric and 700,000 gas customers. Her own bill from the company, she said, went up “significantly more than” $300 a month, and she wondered what to expect in the summer when people crank their air conditioners.

Washington said the company understands that its customers have “received bills that they cannot afford.”

“They are frustrated. They have questions,” he said. “We think that their frustrations are appropriate, and their questions are fair.”

According to Washington, the past three months have been the coldest on BGE’s system since winter 2014 into 2015, and heating homes accounted for 40% of all energy consumption in the residential sector. He said “almost two-thirds” of the rise in costs was driven by an “unprecedentedly cold winter.”

Washington compared a customer bill from 2024 and 2025 and said the difference in energy generation rates was only $5.

“So when you’ve heard about customers who have concerns about their bills doubling or more, all the rest of that is driven by the winter weather and the increased usage that comes with the winter weather,” he said.

Regarding what’s expected for summer rates, Washington said the “average customer” can expect an increase of about $9.22 monthly in energy generation rates.

Attar asked what BGE plans to do to protect its customers from high energy costs in the long term.

Washington said 30,000 BGE customers are on payment plans “to help address their bills,” and an additional 30,000 enrolled in a budget billing program to spread the cost out throughout the year.

“I think the other thing we’re doing is trying to find ways to make our operations more efficient,” he said, adding that BGE is trying to “balance” Maryland’s needs from the energy grid over the next 10 years while “keeping an eye on the costs.”

“It’s a fair callout, and it is a balancing act,” Washington said. “Ultimately, we cannot charge a penny without either a state or federal regulator agreeing with us that that was a prudent penny to spend and that it brings benefits to our customers.”

Though she thanked him for his answer, Attar did not find it sufficient.

“I just want to say 60,000 taking advantage of your programs is very far off from two million customers,” she said.

Have a news tip? Contact Hannah Gaskill at hgaskill@baltsun.com.