"When combined with increases imposed since rate caps expired in 2006, BGE customers will be paying 85 percent more for electricity"

We had a 70+% increase last year and are scheduled for another this year.

wha tis your current charge per KWH? ours is only about 0.09 per KWH.

So, freaked out by a $100 electric bill just about one year ago, we experimented. We plugged the TV, DVD player, stereo components into a surge protector. When we were finished with them we snapped the power to the surge protector off. We did the same thing with the computers. We unplug the toaster when we're finished with it. Get this! we cut our electric bill in HALF in the darkest, coldest days of a New England winter. Encouraged, we began looking around for more undetected "vampires"... battery chargers for tools, cameras, etc.. We don't have a dishwasher or a clothes dryer and our hot water is heated by the boiler. We do not air condition (we use awnings and double hung windows).

Our bill now hovers around the $40 range. So, there are ways to cut your usage and they're not painful but they do require some attention to detail and personal commitment. In view of global warming concerns and our dependancy on foreign oil we felt it was worth it to make the effort.

Between the energy costs and the colossal tax increases in Maryland, how does anyone afford to live there at all?

If you're in Maryland, go to the MD public service commission website and look up other suppliers.