Calling for Utilities Reform in Maryland
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2008-01-17 11:50:20.621750-05:00
Calling for Utilities Reform
Having endured price hikes as high as 72 percent, consumers in Maryland are calling on our elected officials for solutions. It's a priority issue for AARP during this 2008 session of the General Assembly.
Consumers Need Stable and Reliable Electricity
Marylanders are feeling the pinch of rising utilities rates. Faced with escalating electricity bills, many are forced to choose among necessities: lights and heat, or food and medicine. Citing hardships, concerns and frustrations with the recent volatility of utilities rates in Maryland, more than 200 people attended two AARP listening sessions on the issue last fall.
"Stories like the ones we heard make it imperative that Maryland's elected leaders take action this year on utilities prices," said Joseph DeMattos, Jr., AARP Maryland State Director. "The Public Service Commission must work to serve the public."
During the 2008 regular session of the General Assembly, AARP is working with the Office of the People's Counsel to identify to state leaders those policies and choices which ensure that electricity is delivered reliably and affordably for all the residents of our state.
It is a complex issue, and there is no simple solution. But there are initiatives that will help achieve the long-term lowest price for consumers. These include portfolio management, requiring utility companies to plan for the long term when they obtain electricity, construction of new generation facilities, and some energy efficiency programs.
AARP Maryland Advocacy Director Hank Greenberg explains, "Maryland adopted deregulation with the hope that lower prices would result. Instead, we have price volatility and no significant competition for residential customers. Maryland must take a different path."
In a 2006 AARP survey of Maryland voters, almost three-fourths (74 percent) of respondents said they want the state to regulate energy costs and production so that dramatic price increases do not occur.
To get involved as an advocacy volunteer, please call 1-866-542-8163 or email us .
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