Md. House Committee to Consider Re-regulating Utilities
Energy issues are on the front burner in Maryland again, not just because Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) is at odds with Constellation Energy Group over concessions he wants for electricity customers before a French company buys half of the energy giant's nuclear plants.
The House Economic Matters Committee is taking a fresh look at whether to re-regulate the state's energy markets, a review that's expected to take six months. The idea is to review whether re-regulation is an option.
It's a thorny question that could put the legislature at odds with the energy industry, which opposes re-regulation. The Senate passed a bill to regulate future energy supplies during the legislative session that ended in April, but the bill died in the House of Delegates.
House lawmakers said they needed more time to digest such a complicated bill, and industry lobbyists were pressuring them to hold off.
Committee Chairman Dereck Davis (D-Prince George's) opposed the bill. Now he says he's prepared to review the issue with an open mind.
"I don't know where this is going to lead," Davis said. "We owe the citizens of the state a thorough examination."
By Lisa Rein |
June 17, 2009; 8:16 AM ET
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Lisa Rein
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Posted by: free-donny | June 17, 2009 8:46 AM
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What is there to consider, de-regulation should have been done years ago, but Erlich was "in the tank" for power barons - so consumers got screwed. We're all waiting for O'Malley to really turn up the heat on this and get it done!