By MDBayNews Staff
As Maryland families struggle with rising utility bills, a new debate has erupted in Annapolis—not over energy affordability, but over advertising.
This week, Bill Ferguson, President of the Maryland State Senate, criticized Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) for running Super Bowl–night advertisements promoting its plans to build and operate power plants in Maryland. Calling the move “tone deaf,” Ferguson argued that utilities should not be spending money on ads while ratepayers face high electricity costs. He further pointed to the legislature’s recently passed Next Generation Energy Act as proof that lawmakers had already barred utilities from passing certain costs on to consumers.
That framing may score political points—but it sidesteps the harder question Marylanders are actually asking: Why are energy bills so high in the first place?
Ads Aren’t Driving Bills—Policy Is
Advertising expenses are a rounding error in the context of utility rates. What does drive costs are long-term policy decisions: aggressive renewable mandates, accelerated plant retirements, constrained grid capacity, and regulatory requirements that raise the cost of generating reliable power.
Maryland has spent years tightening energy rules while simultaneously opposing new natural gas generation and transmission projects. The result is predictable—less supply, higher demand, and rising prices. When utilities are forced to navigate a shrinking pool of viable energy options, ratepayers ultimately feel the impact.
Blaming a Super Bowl ad for affordability problems is like blaming the receipt printer for the grocery bill.
The “We Banned the Costs” Talking Point
Supporters of the Next Generation Energy Act argue that lawmakers deserve credit for prohibiting utilities from directly passing certain expenses onto customers. But this argument ignores a key reality: many of the underlying costs exist because of legislative mandates in the first place.
When government policy drives utilities to make more expensive investments—often under tight timelines—the money doesn’t disappear simply because lawmakers say it can’t be charged directly. Costs are absorbed elsewhere in the system, deferred, or pushed into future rate cases. Either way, consumers pay.
Marylanders are smart enough to recognize this shell game.
Energy Reality vs. Political Optics
The Super Bowl is one of the largest media platforms in the country. Utilities use it to communicate with customers, investors, and regulators alike—especially at a time when Maryland’s energy future is increasingly uncertain. That may be uncomfortable for politicians who want to control the narrative, but it is not the root cause of affordability problems.
The real issue is whether Maryland can maintain reliable, affordable power while continuing to layer mandates on an already stressed grid. So far, the answer has been no.
What Marylanders Actually Need
Maryland families don’t need symbolic outrage over advertising budgets. They need:
- A realistic energy mix that prioritizes reliability alongside environmental goals
- Fewer political talking points and more transparency about policy tradeoffs
- Honest acknowledgment that mandates have costs—and someone always pays
Until state leaders are willing to confront those realities, blaming utilities for “tone deafness” will ring hollow to the people opening their BGE bills every month.
MDBayNews will continue tracking energy policy, rate impacts, and who ultimately bears the cost.
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