So the regulators, the PSC, allow the power companies to bill for power when the power is out. Hahahahahahaha

This is the logical conclusion of government getting involved in business. Don't be mad at BGE- government is solidly to blame for this.

I guess all those campaign contributions from BGE to both Democrats and Republicans is paying off.

If these Power companies are able to recoup money lost, then they should be responsible for food lost due to their inability to provide their service.

I wonder if the people who DIDN'T lose power in the storm are going to be charged this fee also. This is so unfair to everyone involved. It's adding insult to injury.

Agreed David and jag.

Definately an issue when state's regulate industry. Correcting deregulation was a promise under all three governors since I have been living in Maryland. All promises and no action except my electric bill increasing (like my taxes!!!). We need government to get out of the way and let free market decide.All the "choice" we have is an illusion!!!!

I cannot believe this, we were without power for 6 days, we didn't complain, we pay our bill every month on time for 37 years never late, last our power was out for a week, we didn't complain, you know what this is getting rediculous, I think I am ready to complain. We were able to get a generator from my son so we could keep our refrigerators running and it cost us $50 a day to run it and BGE wants us to pay them for losses thats stupid. Take it out of the big shots bonuses.

All businesses should be prepared for unexpected expenses, even when they are extreme. BGE won't reimburse the 100 dollars worth of food that I lost. They won't be paying a benefit to anyone that needed medical attention or died due to the extreme heat after the storm. I don't care if the fee is less than a dollar, their customers had to cover those costs on their own, everyone was impacted by the storm and everyone should be responsible for covering their own costs.

So they can impose a fee to keep their revenue relatively stable and that way, Pepco can "promote energy efficiency programs that will help customers reduce their energy use" who will then still pay the same because of the Bill Stabilization Adjustment. Well then why should I care about using less energy if my bill won't really go down!!!!!!

BG&E just sent me a letter asking for permission to shut off my power during an emergency but you already do! I have no interest in paying for a cost recovery fee-PSC you need to fix that. My questions for PSC and BG&E - what are you doing in the areas of energy assurance planning and how are you coordinating with emergency responders? How is renewable energy generation being utilized during power outages? What progress has been made on smart grid and burying power lines?

BGE / Constellation Energy Group Inc top executives need to give up their bonus packages to help. Some of them make million’ of dollars. Let them come down to the real world and help out - Oh.. Wait I forgot everyone received a $100.00 rebate when they merged. SOOOO nice of them..

BGE is a piece of work. I am so disgusted by them. We live a street over from their hub and it took FOUR days to get power restored. Not to mention that a week before the storm my neighbor called in a tree hanging on the power line...........it is still there! In the 8 years I have lived on my road i have seen BGE cut the trees back from the power lines 1x. Why is it not in their budget to cover cost of storms? they are making profits every year and they cannot cover the storm and yet we are left for days..........(my parents went SEVEN days without power) and are to still be charged??? We spent $45 a day paying for gas for a generator and then BGE wants to tack on more charges??? Kiss my @ss BGE! I agree with redflash let the BGE execs take a pay cut or give up their bonuses........they must be in O'Malley's back pocket.......smh

BGE has a lot of nerve talking about recouping "losses" so that they can get things "back on track". That is BS. BGE doesn't use the money we pay on a monthly basis to keep the infrastructure up to date, nor do they retain crews that are necessary to restore power when it goes out. This is why there was a slow response. BGE is full of crap, and only cares about the bottom line profit, not whom they provide power for.
Charging people for services NOT USED is the height of arrogance, and should be met with utter contempt. Their excuse for this "fee" is an absolute fail.

What about the food that spoiled in my fridge? What about my lost sleep (as a sleep apnea sufferer, I cannot sleep without electricity)?

The distribution charge in my last BGE bill, divided over the thirty-day billing period, works out to a bit less than $.50 per day, but we'll call it four bits for simplicity's sake.

Per the article, the "bill stabilization" charge applies only to the first 24 hours of an outage, i.e. one day.

There are fourteen individuals in this thread whining about having to pay an extra four bits on their next BGE bill.

By my math, that works out to seven bucks out of pocket if I cover the difference for the lot of you, which I will gladly do in exchange for you promising to try and obtain something in the vague semblance of a sense of perspective.

Let me know if there's interest in this proposal, and I'll provide an address to which to apply.

One significant point, so far ignored in this analysis, is that distribution charges are calculated on the basis of energy used. The score on my last BGE bill was 520KWh, about half the 2010 average for Maryland. We don't have a lot of fancy appliances, or indeed even central air. Perhaps some of you, for whom living simply is more of an aspirational goal than a simple necessity, have more reason to complain than I imagine.

(Maryland average home power usage figures via United States Energy Information Agency, found at http://205.254.135.7/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3 .)

There are other energy suppliers in your area. Please contact me if you would like to understand more about energy deregulation:)