Marylanders are being told a familiar story about why their energy bills keep climbing. Blame supply costs. Blame data centers. Blame anything except the monopoly utilities that continue to cash the checks.
But as Maryland’s People’s Counsel David Lapp explains in a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed, one of the biggest drivers of high energy bills is hiding in plain sight: Exelon’s spending habits under a guaranteed-profit monopoly business model.
Since Chicago-based Exelon acquired Baltimore Gas & Electric, Pepco, and Delmarva Power, distribution rates have surged. Meanwhile, Maryland’s only other large for-profit utility has kept rates largely flat for decades, showing that rising bills are not inevitable. That alone should raise eyebrows.
Why the difference? Because monopoly utilities increase profits by spending more money, and customers are required to pay for it. Every new pole, wire, pipe, or substation goes into rate base. Once approved, customers are locked into paying for it for decades, as well as a set return for the utility’s shareholders, whether the investment was truly needed or not. That’s gold-plating, and Maryland families are picking up the tab.
Exelon’s profits have soared alongside these rate hikes, a strategy the company openly acknowledges in its own federal filings and on earnings calls. Yet customers aren’t seeing meaningful improvements in reliability or affordability. What they are seeing is an energy affordability crisis that forces too many households to choose between paying their utility bill and paying for groceries, rent, or health care.
Instead of focusing on how it can reduce transmission and distribution costs for ratepayers, Exelon’s utilities are now pushing for the right to build and own power plants and charge ratepayers for it. That would shift even more financial risk from investors to families and small businesses, locking in higher energy bills for decades to come.
Competitive power generation works because companies bear the risk. If generation companies make bad investments in power plants, their investors pay for it. Monopoly utilities do not. Maryland has already seen what happens when guaranteed profits meet unchecked spending.
High energy bills aren’t inevitable. They’re the result of regulatory schemes that reward overbuilding and protect monopoly profits. It’s time for regulators and lawmakers to put consumers first and say no to any more monopoly utility giveaways.
