Maryland Extends Ban On BGE Utility Cutoffs Through April 1

The Baltimore Gas & Electric Company (BGE) will be banned from cutting off any customer’s gas or electric service until at least April 1, according to an order from the Maryland Public Service Commission released Thursday.

The order comes amid an investigation into “systemic failings” in BGE’s customer call center, which the Public Service Commission found has unreasonably long wait times for customers. The moratorium on service terminations was extended in order to “continue to mitigate potential harm to customers” while BGE works to fix its call center problems, the commission wrote in the Thursday order.

“Under [state law], a utility is required to investigate customer disputes or inquiries and propose any resolution or finding to the customer. BGE cannot fulfill this legal obligation if customers are unable to reach a call center representative to make the inquiry,” the commission’s order reads.

The Public Service Commission placed a similar moratorium on BGE in December, which stopped the utility from ending anyone’s service, issuing notifications for overdue payments, or trying to collect overdue payments until Feb. 28. Their Thursday order will extend that same moratorium. BGE customers will still be required to pay their bills while the moratorium is in place.

Maryland Extends Ban On BGE Utility Cutoffs Through April 1 was originally published on 92q.com