Maryland Public Service Commission approves rate increase for Potomac Edison

The Maryland Public Service Commission approved Potomac Edison Company’s request to increase electric distribution rates by a total of $6.2 million.

The total monthly bill for the average residential customer will go up about $2.13, an increase of just over 2 percent of a customer’s total bill. 

The commission also directed Potomac Energy to provide an additional bill credit to customers via the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. PE’s first bill credit covered the period from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2018, while the second bill credit will cover the period from Oct. 1, 2018, through the effective date of the new rates.

“As in prior rate cases, we have strived to limit rate impacts while allowing the company to invest in safety and reliability and continue to modernize its distribution system for the benefit of its customers,” the commission stated.

Potomac Edison serves approximately 266,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery, and Washington counties.

The commission is also requiring Potomac Edison to update several of its studies, including its depreciation study, which is approximately 25 years old. The company is expected to file a new depreciation study within 18 months. Further, the commission denied the company’s request for a return on equity (ROE) of 10.8 percent, instead approving an ROE of 9.65 percent.