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BGE Ordered to Cut Smart Meter Opt Out Charge

BGE

BALTIMORE (AP) - Maryland's Public Service Commission has ordered BGE to cut in half its monthly fee to customers who opt out of having smart meters installed in their homes or small businesses.

The monthly opt out rate will be reduced to $5.50, from $11, beginning in January, the commission said Tuesday in a news release.

The PSC said it held a hearing earlier this month because about 4 percent of BGE's customers in central Maryland are choosing not to have smart meters installed. The commission said a 1 percent opt-out rate was expected when it set the fees in 2014.

BGE's one-time, initial opt-out charge of $75 is not affected by this order, the PSC says.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.