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The year 2022 saw historic reliability for BGE. The number of service interruptions each customer experienced was the fourth lowest on record. When the power does go out, it’s restored in under an hour—that’s 36 percent faster than a decade ago. These numbers demonstrate the power of good energy. And there’s more where that came from.
BGE’s proposed multi-year energy infrastructure plan is designed to invest nearly $2.3 billion annually in the electric grid and natural gas system and nearly $400 million total in electric vehicle and building efficiency programs from 2024-2026. These investments will inject nearly $36 billion into the local economy and support an estimated 72,000 jobs, generating more than $8 billion in labor income and $1.7 billion in tax revenue for the State of Maryland. The plan comprises more than 300 projects and maintenance programs that will push the utility’s track-record of improving reliability even further by:
- Enhancing energy infrastructure supporting the growth of important economic development sites, and the reliability needs of customers throughout central Maryland.
- Installing smart automation equipment to identify and circumvent damage to the electric grid and reduce the frequency and duration of power outages faster for our customers.
- Replacing outmoded technologies, such as limited capacity 4kV electric systems to improve reliability, enable greater adoption of solar energy and electric vehicle charging and increased capacity in areas where redevelopment adds additional customer demand.
- Preparing the grid for extreme weather and threat-actor actions with continued tree trimming and vegetation management and cyber security enhancements to improve resiliency against manmade and natural threats to mitigate risk to our customers.
- Replacing more natural gas pipeline segments and installing over-pressurization protection equipment to improve safety and reliability for our customers while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 210,000 metric tons annually.
This work will present new opportunities for local and diverse businesses to support the energy transformation. Last year, BGE spent $497 million with diverse businesses, of which $262 million was with firms located in Maryland. This continues a trend of BGE annually increasing work with local and diverse suppliers and complements workforce development initiatives to expand local training and hiring programs.
A decision on the current proposed multi-year plan is expected from the Maryland Public Service Commission in December 2023.
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