Maryland utilities
Sick of BGE Rate Hikes? Learn How to Fight Back!
If you are upset about the current cost of utilities, you’re not alone. In 2025, the average yearly BGE bill for a home with a gas furnace is estimated to be $3,750, about a 50% increase from 2021. Make no mistake, this is not simply an issue of supply and demand, these costs are being driven up by corporate greed. It is unacceptable. The past few months, Economic Action Maryland Fund and our partners fought for legislation to reduce the cost of utilities while the gas and utilities spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbyists to defeat these bills. ...
Your Utility Bill Shouldn’t Fund Shareholder Perks!
It’s no secret that utility bills are at an all time high in Maryland, and are only set to increase. With the rising costs, families have been forced to choose between heating their homes and food, medicine, and other basic needs. Thousands of Baltimore City households experienced BGE shutoffs in 2024. Meanwhile, our monopoly utilities are using the money they collect from your monthly bills to fund their lobbying and advertisements. They've even attempted to charge ratepayers for their retirement gifts. This lavish spending benefits them, not you. The ratepayer pays the bill, the utility companies reap the rewards. This ...
Contact Your Legislators and Stop Out of Control Utility Bills!
Background In 2013, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to allow gas utilities to add a surcharge to customers' bills as an incentive for utilities to install new pipes– the STRIDE program. As passed, the law does not require utilities to prioritize cost effectiveness nor safety resulting in excessive and wasteful spending. Gas utilities have spent billions on new pipes and equipment, leading to massive rate hikes. Utilities have reaped enormous profits without commensurate community benefits. For example: In 2023 BGE spent about $160 million on its STRIDE plan. After accounting for BGE’s profits and interest, that $160 million will cost ...
Fact Sheets for Tenants
Here are several one-page fact sheets you can download, on topics relevant to Maryland tenants. Fact sheets are in PDF format. Air Conditioning Rent Escrow Ratio Utility Billing (RUBS) Security Deposits Fair Housing Protected Classes Our comprehensive Tenant Guide is updated each year, as laws change. You'll find information on how to choose a suitable property, what's allowed in a lease, and how to find information on your prospective landlord, along with information on what to do if things go wrong during your tenancy. You can download the Tenant Guide here. If you need information related to Fair Housing issues, ...
Policy Advocacy
Policy and Legislative Advocacy Working at the local, state, and federal level, Economic Action Maryland Fund unites individual consumer advocates, poverty and consumer organizations, and grassroots members to press for policies that protect vulnerable Marylanders. Together, we uncover systemic issues in our financial system and work to create policies that don’t just put bandaids on problems, but heal the system for good. Fact Sheets, Testimony, Comments and Sign-On Letters Fact Sheet on HB1020/SB614, Prohibiting Adverse Reporting of Outpatient Medical Debt to Credit Reporting Agencies (2025) Fact Sheet on HB769, Establishing a Statute of Limitations on Mortgage ...