BALTIMORE, Md. — 1.3 million BGE electric customers in Central Maryland, just over half of them also paying for natural gas, and more than 264,000 of them are behind on their bills.
BGE Credit and Collections Manager Michael Franklin says the company is aware that people are struggling.
“We empathize with everything they’re going through,” said Franklin, “and what I mean by that is saying I’m a person that’s not only from the community, I have family and friends that are impacted by the current situation.”
The company is offering deferred payment arrangements for eligible customers, due date extensions and budget billing for those who want to spread their bills out evenly no matter what the season, but customers with past due balances can’t simply ignore them.
“I know that it’s hard, but if you call us, we can help you,” said Franklin, “The other thing is, we encourage you, continue to pay on your bill. That helps it not get out of control.”
The company has lived up to its pledge not to cut off people’s power through the months of January and February, and it’s not charging late fees.
There’s no such guarantee as of yet for the month of March.
Those seeking financial help may qualify for grants from the state’s Office of Home Energy Programs or from the Fuel Fund of Maryland, which says the rising costs of energy, coupled with people given a pass on paying their bills during the pandemic may be creating the perfect storm.
“Where people maybe had that false sense of security, it’s not there anymore,” said the nonprofit’s executive director, Debbie Brown, “so any time that we see that there is a moratorium or a break, from the Fuel Fund side, we are very nervous about that.”
