BALTIMORE — The cost of energy is going up.
Starting October 1, BGE customers will see higher prices on their bill.
While it may seem like BGE is increasing rates, the price increase is being caused by the wholesale energy prices going up.
"There are two primary components to everyone's BGE bill - delivery and supply," said Nick Alexopoulos, Senior Manager of communications at BGE.
The costs for delivering your energy are controlled by BGE and regulated by the public service commission -- they're not changing.
"Supply, the other component, is the cost of the actual gas and electricity. If you choose to get your supply from BGE, which is called standard offer service, we are not allowed to profit off that component. The cost is passed directly to the customer," said Alexopoulos.
The cost per kilowatt hour is going from about 11 cents to 12 cents.
It seems like a small amount but for the average Marylander that's about $12 a month.
Arbor, a company focused on finding people lower rates than the standard utility option, says they're seeing rates about 5% lower than what's coming in October.
"What we do is we go to the competitive energy markets and we search for or even go negotiate rates from the competitive energy providers that will try and save you money," said Andrew Meyer, the CEO of Arbor.
This is allowed in Maryland because of the competitive energy market.
Soon, legislation will guarantee those third party companies can't charge you more than your standard utility but that doesn't come until January 1.
According to Meyer, price increases aren't slowing down.
"In the demand side, we've just seen a really significant surge in electricity demand in the last year or so and it's just continuing on into the future. At the same time, supply is just not keeping up with demand," said Meyer.
Here in Maryland, the reliance on fossil fuels is contributing to the rising prices.
"There's power plants in Maryland built in the 60's and 70's burning coal and oil and it's getting really expensive to maintain those power plants and so some of them are actually shutting down," said Meyer.
There are ways people can lower their energy bill without switching their supplier.
"First and foremost get you [a] heating system inspected by a licensed professional. Two, you can lower your thermostat. For every degree that you lower your thermostat in the winter, it roughly equates to a 2% decrease in your monthly bill," said Alexopoulos.
For people struggling to pay their energy bill, there is assistance out there.