PSC rate ruling voided by Court of Special Appeals

Posted: 12:19 pm Fri, September 17, 2010
By Ben Mook
Daily Record Business Writer

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals on Friday ruled that the Public Service Commission overstepped its bounds in 2008 when it offset a hike in electric costs to some businesses by putting a surcharge on large customers like W.R. Grace & Co.

In the summer of 2008, the PSC approved a capped 15-percent price increase for Maryland customers that were going to be moving into new utility rates. To offset the cost of capping those rate increases, the state utility regulator let Baltimore Gas & Electric recoup the shortfall through an electricity distribution surcharge on other businesses that amounted to 1 percent to 3 percent of their total bills.

“We hold that the PSC’s action exceeded its authority and therefore was unlawful,” the court wrote in a published opinion.

The Court of Special Appeal’s decision vacates the PSC’s ruling and remands the matter back to the commission.