Worth A Grain of Salt

When it comes to energy, Martin O’Malley is the guy who can’t shoot straight. We all know the epic fail that was his campaign promise to roll back the BGE rate increases. Toss in his other moves, which have increased energy costs—EmPower and the GHG Reduction Act—and you wonder why the guy still bothers with this issue.

Now the Baltimore Sun is reporting with the lead headline “Governor seeks relief for strapped BGE customers,” that O’Malley is close to a deal with Constellation Energy that…

…could include immediate electricity price reductions for strapped consumers, longer-term discounts and commitments that the company will make investments in environmentally friendly energy projects.

First, if you are a strapped BGE customer knowing O’Malley’s track record, be worried, very worried. Second, Constellation through its support for Waxman-Markey is already poised to gorge on the public subsidies for “environmentally friendly energy projects.” Projects, without said subsidies, are too expensive and uncompetitive in the normal marketplace. Why would the Sun paint that as possible concession O’Malley wrangled from Constellation?

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Not included in this Sun article—and the Sun’s coverage in general—is the fact that O’Malley’s GHG Reduction Act specifically targets the state’s energy sector, meaning it will increase our energy costs.

So take for a grain of salt any news about the governor working to lower electricity rates. The trend will hold, and once again we’re going to pay the price for O’Malley cosmetic attempts to look good on energy issues.