Customer bills will increase effective with usage starting on Feb. 1, 2022 and as authorized by the Maryland Public Service Commission will be partially reduced by certain tax benefits. With the rate adjustment and offsets approved by the PSC, the average residential electric bill will increase by $3.28 per month and the average residential natural gas bill will increase by $2.40 per month. See bge.com/myp for details.
BGE will attempt to contact those Special Needs customers with a serious illness or that are on life support to notify them of an upcoming planned outage or the possibility of an impending severe storm so the customer may implement back-up plans.
It's the customer's responsibility to make appropriate arrangements such as portable generator, battery backup and a contingency plan, such as identifying places where to go for shelter or care in extreme emergencies. Customers with special needs are located throughout our service area and when there are extensive power outages, it's not possible to provide restoration priority to individual customers.
Additionally, BGE will take extra steps to avoid or delay service termination for Special Needs Customers.
Please see below for additional information about Disaster Preparedness for Special Needs Customers.
In order to participate, customers with a serious illness or that are on life support must have a physician or certified nurse practitioner submit the required forms below:
Please note:
Please fax forms to 1-443-213-3302, email to [email protected], or mail to:
Special Needs Room 720 PO Box 1475 Baltimore, Maryland 21298-9979
Customers requesting Special Needs status have 30 days to return the appropriate forms. During this period, no collection activity will occur for a customer scheduled to be disconnected. For more information, contact us. TTY/TDD (Maryland Relay Service): 1- 800-735-2258.
If you are in the hospital and worried you won't be able to pay your BGE bill, contact a hospital social worker. The social worker will call BGE to delay collection action until you have returned home and recuperated.
If you are ill, away from home for a long time or unable to handle your own affairs, you may designate a third party to be notified if your account is in danger of denial.
Disaster Preparedness for People With Disabilities has been designed to help people who have physical, visual, auditory, or cognitive disabilities to prepare for natural disasters and their consequences.
Anyone who has a disability or anyone who works with, lives with, or assists a person with a disability can use this booklet. It contains information that can help you organize a personal disaster plan and includes plans for the care of service animals and/or pets during a disaster.
Disaster Preparedness for People with Special Needs and Persons 65 and Older (PDF)
Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs (PDF)
