Potomac Edison submits rate review request with Maryland PSC

Potomac Edison has requested a $44 million rate adjustment review by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC).

The rate adjustment request accounts for service reliability enhancements made in recent years, including grid equipment upgrades, tree trimming, inspections of lines, poles, and substations, and maintenance for newly installed equipment.

If approved, the average Potomac Edison residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month would see a 9.7 percent overall rate increase – or $9.50 per month. However, they would still pay the lowest electric rates among Maryland’s investor-owned regulated electric distribution companies. The new rates will be effective by Oct. 19 if approved.

“As the demand for electricity continues to increase with population growth in Potomac Edison’s Maryland service area, continued investments in a smart, modern energy grid will help us deliver on our commitment to providing dependable electricity to homes, businesses, and communities,” Linda Moss, president of Maryland operations, said. “This rate proposal balances our need to invest while keeping electric bills affordable for our customers.”

Potomac Edison, owned by FirstEnergy, has grown significantly in the last five years. It now serves approximately 20,000 more customers than during its last base rate review. The company currently provides power to about 285,000 customers in all or parts of Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery, and Washington counties. It also serves about 151,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. West Virginia customers’ rates would not be affected by this rate review.

Among other initiatives, this rate request proposes the completion of Potomac Edison’s plan to install 68 reclosers at substations throughout the service territory to help minimize the number of customers interrupted by outages. It also supports the proactive replacement of aging underground cable with a more reliable type of cable. In the last four years, it has replaced 206 miles of cable and still has 972 miles of cable left to replace.

In addition, the rate review also proposes the launch of two new customer assistance initiatives. One program will provide a 50 percent monthly discount on distribution charges to eligible low-income residential customers during the five-month winter heating period. Another will create an Energy Assistance Outreach Team to increase awareness and participation in energy assistance programs available to low-income customers.

Finally, the rate review seeks to recover costs associated with Potomac Edison’s EV Driven program, which supports a goal of having 300,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2025. To make electric vehicle adoption more accessible, Potomac Edison has installed 35 public charging stations, with 12 more public charging sites in the construction phase and another 12 in the design stages.

The public is invited to comment on the rate request through the Maryland PSC’s public comment process.