BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Council is no longer convinced safety is BGE's top concern.
An investigation into BGE identified gaps in BGE's quality assurance and compliance oversight as it relates to gas pipeline safety.
VIDEO: BGE under fire for alleged safety violation
A report from the Public Service Commission's Engineering Division alleges major safety violations from the company.
The report was sparked by BGE employees going to the commission with concerns over a coworker who was allegedly falsifying inspection reports on gas pipelines for over four years.
So, Baltimore City Council sent a letter that called for an oversight hearing with the company—its second one this year.
Council President Zeke Cohen told WMAR 2 News that back in February, BGE officials emphasized the role that pipeline safety projects play in determining rate plans.
"It is unacceptable to come before the Baltimore City Council and tell us that your top priority is safety when we then find out that your employee who's supposed to be in charge of safety, who's doing safety inspections, is somewhere out on a boat," Cohen said.
However, 11 pages of the report are redacted, BGE classifying most of its responses as confidential.
So council is also demanding the full unredacted report.
"BGE must provide transparency and safety for their customers, and we're not feeling either of those things."
But the investigation's results are still available.
PSC's engineering division found that BGE investigated the falsifications itself and took limited disciplinary action.
The report also states BGE has not produced a list of packages affected by the falsified reports, a remediation plan, or documentation of inspections conducted by other qualified personnel in place of the discredited inspections.
The division considered this omission significant given that gas distribution infrastructure is considered a high-risk critical asset with a threat to life, safety, and property.
"This isn't about 'gotcha,' this is about standing up for the residents and ratepayers of this city," Cohen said.
BGE sent WMAR 2 News a statement in response saying,
"We are engaged with the Maryland Public Service Commission, our regulatory body that has purview over these matters. Understand that this matter involves a union-represented personnel issue, which is why the majority of the report is redacted. We respectfully disagree with the PSC Engineering Division’s conclusions that suggest that there were multiple instances where a single former employee submitted false audits or that the actions of that employee compromised our gas system safety. The activity in question involved the former employee conducting contractor compliance audits, not safety inspections as characterized by the PSC. This distinction is crucial for an accurate understanding of the situation. It is also worth noting audits are performed on a sample of work and are not a comprehensive review of all work. BGE identified a single instance in 2024 where the former employee submitted a falsified post-audit report. No reinspection was required because the contractor conducting the specified work had not yet commenced work. To protect our customers from any financial impact, we proactively removed this former employee's entire salary from recovery. BGE maintains a comprehensive approach to contractor oversight that includes multiple verification methods and built-in redundancies. This multi-layered approach reflects our unwavering commitment to safety as our highest priority. BGE continues to not only meet but exceed industry best practices in operational integrity and safety for the communities we serve."
The Public Service Commission also sent a statement saying,
"Since this report includes recommendations that the Commission could take, we decline comment at this time on findings by the Engineering Division (part of the Commission's Technical Staff). Since the report was filed a few days ago, the commission is now assessing the report, considering its recommendations, and next steps in this matter. [The Commission's February 10 order pointed out that after receipt of Engineering's investigation, 'the Commission may open additional proceedings to further investigate and remediate the matter'."]
There's not yet a set date for the council's oversight hearing.
The engineering division of the Public Service Commission listed several recommendations, including an order directing BGE to produce a list of all projects inspected by the discredited employee.
