Pepco’s Upfront Charges Are a Big Change for Maryland

By Patch Editor Whitney Teal

When you look at your next monthly electricity bill, it's likely to be a few dollars higher than it was last month, after Pepco received permission, earlier this month, to raise rates in Maryland.

Pepco’s grid improvement, which customers are paying for in advance of the actual work being done, is a first for the state, The Gazette reports.

Paula M. Carmody, head of the state’s Office of People's Counsel, a watchdog group for Maryland utility customers, said the policy change is a big one, the newspaper reported. Utility companies had long tried to convince state utility regulators—previously, to no avail—that customers should pay in advance for infrastructure improvements.

Now, at least one member of the Maryland Public Service Commission fears that the proverbial floodgates are open for other utilities to be granted similar fee hikes.

Read more at The Gazette’s website.