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O'Malley vows push for power regulation
Friday, June 5, 2009
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ANNAPOLIS — As the Maryland Public Service Commission weighs a proposed merger involving the state's largest utility, Gov. Martin O'Malley pledged on Wednesday to make re-regulation of Maryland's energy industry a priority in the 2010 General Assembly session.
"We're at a time of life in this issue where the General Assembly has some important policy decisions to make," O'Malley (D) said before a crowded Board of Public Works meeting during which $4.6 million in consulting contracts related to the PSC's analysis of the proposed merger was approved.
Lawmakers have debated whether to go back to a deregulated energy market since shortly after rate caps expired and electricity prices ballooned in 2006. But an O'Malley-backed bill that would have partially returned Maryland to a deregulated market died in the House of Delegates in the 2009 session's waning days. Lawmakers said they needed more time to study such a complex proposal and pledged to do so during the interim.
The decision to place a focus on re-regulation in 2010 is part of an effort to reduce electricity rates and score political points with voters in a year when the governor and all 188 state lawmakers face re-election. It may also have the added benefit of deflecting attention from the state's continuing fiscal woes.
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative will continue to monitor the re-regulation debate as it plays out in Annapolis, but it's too early to tell whether it will support the final product, said spokesman Tom Dennison.
"With major issues like this, the devil is always in the details," he said. "... Our mission to provide our customer-members with reliable electricity at the lowest possible price will continue whether we are operating in a deregulated or regulated environment."
Meanwhile, O'Malley vowed to give PSC Chairman Douglas R.M. Nazarian "whatever expertise you need" to block a possible $87 million payment to Constellation Energy Group CEO Mayo A. Shattuck that is part of the proposed purchase by Electricité de France of its nuclear assets.
He said it was important for the state to demand some rate relief as part of the proposed deal so that "the people do not get worked over by the energy industry."
"We promised that we would fight every day for the public interest," O'Malley said. "We're not so silly to think we can win every battle, but we do expect to fight."
The exorbitant executive payouts initially stoked the ire of Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D), who said the PSC must "put a stop to free money rewards for bad behavior."
