By Steve Crane | Editor-in-chief
“If a ratemaking model asks families to pay today based on what a utility projects it will spend tomorrow, we need strong evidence that those investments are necessary, that the projections are accurate, and that customers are actually receiving the promised benefits.” - House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel),on news that the Public Service Commission was abandoning its experiment with multiyear rate-setting, which did not provide the hoped-for savings.
A revision to a six-year-old utility rate-setting plan and an apparent repeat of a four-year-old election are on tap this morning. Welcome to Tuesday.
The Public Service Commission is pulling the plug on its multiyear rate-setting plan, which let utilities predict their costs and set rates instead of doing the work needed to keep the system going and then billing customers after the fact. The forward rate-setting plan was supposed to make for steadier rate increases but it hasn’t worked out, and a work group has been tasked with proposing a “substantially reformed” multiyear plan by next summer, as Christine Condon reports.
A new poll shows Gov. Wes Moore (D) with an almost 2-1 lead over Republican challenger Dan Cox in the rematch of their 2022 race — which Moore won by roughtly a 2-1 margin. Cox is doing slightly better this time, and Moore’s favorability ratings are down, but it’s still a steep challenge for the Republican. Bryan P. Sears has that story.
Those stories, plus commentary and news of the removal of an Anne Arundel County Orphans’ Court judge for “egregious misconduct,” are below to get your Tuesday started. Enjoy!
Commissioners on the Maryland Public Service Commission hear a case involving a rate increase request from Baltimore Gas & Electric on Aug. 11, 2026. (Photo by Christine Condon/ Maryland Matters)
By Christine Condon
Maryland regulators say they’re concerned about a rate-setting practice that electric utilities have been using in the state since 2020. But they aren’t ready to abandon it altogether.
The Maryland Public Service Commission ended a pilot program Thursday that had allowed utilities in the state to file “Multi-Year Rate Plans,” during which the companies could project their future spending on the electric system and ask that customers’ rates be increased accordingly. That was a change from traditional ratemaking, in which utilities completed work on the electric system and then asked for regulators’ permission to charge those costs to customers.
The commission had hoped that the pilot program would lead to more transparency about utilities’ planned spending, make customer rates more predictable, spread rate increases out over several years and make rate proceedings less burdensome. But it found that those goals were “largely unachieved.” The PSC ordered a working group to recommend a possible “substantially reformed” multiyear rate plan procedure by June 30. Until then, multiyear ratee-setting will remain.
A poll released Tuesday by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County finds Gov. Wes Moore (D), left, with a comfortable double-digit lead in his reelection bid over Republican challenger Dan Cox. (File photos by Christine Condon/Maryland Matters)
By Bryan P. Sears
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) would cruise to a second term in office if the election were held today, according to a new poll from the Institute of Politics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
The poll, released Tuesday, finds that Moore would pick up 51% of likely voters while Republican Dan Cox was favored by 24%. Another 14% didn't know, while 11% was divided between other candidates: Green Party nominee Andy Ellis and Working Class Party nominee Cathy White each got 3% in the UMBC survey.
The poll comes with four weeks left in the campaign season, and on the same day that Moore and Cox are scheduled to meet in their only televised debate. Nearly 600,000 voters have already received mail-in ballots. Early voting begins Oct. 22 and ends on Oct. 29. The survey is based on interviews with 776 Marylanders who said they were likely to vote. It was conducted from Sept. 22-27 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%.
The roughly 2-1 margin is reminiscent of the 2022 race between Moore and Cox. Four years ago, Moore, who had never held public office, trounced Cox by 32 percentage points to become Maryland's first Black governor.
IN OTHER NEWS
Anne Arundel judge removed from bench: The Maryland Supreme Court ordered the removal Monday of Anne Arundel County Orphans' Court Chief Judge Vickie Gipson for what it called "egregious ... misconduct" in office, the second such removal this year.
Purple Line questions: The 16-mile, 21-stop Purple Line light rail continues to move closer to opening by the end of 2027, but state transportation officials told a Montgomery County Council panel the actual opening date remains “dynamic.”
Sphere vote leaves out project labor agreement: The Prince George’s County Council voted unanimously Monday to approve $215 million in bonds for the Sphere at National Harbor, but unions looking to secure labor agreements on it were left out.
TODAY'S COMMENTARY
Any number of problems -- an unexpected expense, loss of transportation, a family fight -- can tip a young person over into homelessness, write Larry Cohen and Tom Coale, but minimal assistance they go into a shelter can help them avoid homelessness.
MATTERS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Debate on the debate: There are four candidates on the ballot for governor but only two will be on stage for Tuesday's debate. To Andy Ellis and Cathy White, the Green and Working Class Party nominees, that’s not right, but MPT says they don't meet criteria.
Feds to fund $90 million in bay projects: The EPA will disburse $37 million to localities to aid Chesapeake Bay pollution reduction and clean-up efforts, with another $53 million in matching funds for 83 projects across the watershed, 32 in Maryland.
Menhaden and jobs: An Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission vote next month on whether menhaden are overharvested in the Chesapeake Bay will be closely watched by workers who pursue the fish now, and worry the cuts could cost them their jobs.
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