Maryland’s utility regulator partially denied Baltimore Gas and Electric’s request to recoup cost overruns from 2023 — blunting an increase in monthly bills.

In a Monday order, the Maryland Public Service Commission said it would grant BGE a $77.2 million “true-up,” about half of the $152.3 million originally requested.

Starting in February and lasting through the end of 2027, this $77.2 million increase will add 72 cents to the average monthly electric bill and $1.95 to the average monthly gas bill, according to a news release from the Public Service Commission.

That’s on top of the previously approved rate hike of $213.8 million for 2020 through 2023, according to a statement from the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel.

The $152.3 million that BGE sought was substantially higher than prior true-up requests, the Public Service Commission wrote, and granting the full amount would “result in rates that are unaffordable to ratepayers.”

“Approving BGE’s full year-three reconciliation request on a foundation of questionable forecasting, followed up by substantial overruns of its approved budgets, would wrongly reward the utility’s performance rather than encourage a more disciplined approach to managing for results that benefit both the utility and its customers,” the commission wrote.

BGE President and CEO Tamla Olivier said in a statement Monday that the company “understands that energy bills are a top concern for our customers.”

“BGE weighs every expense carefully, with customer costs in mind every step of the way,” she said in the statement. “The work we did strengthened reliability, improved safety and responded to severe storms — necessary and critical work for customers and the reliability of our systems.”

Utility bills have been top of mind for elected officials this year. Gov. Wes Moore on Friday signed an executive order aimed at reworking the state’s energy strategy and slowing the steady march of cost increases.

State lawmakers passed the Next Generation Energy Act earlier this year, which included legislation to prevent utility companies that participate in the pilot multiyear rate plan from recouping overspending from ratepayers. But that law doesn’t apply to this request because it was filed before Jan. 1, 2025.

The Public Service Commission’s decision isn’t the win some lawmakers and ratepayer advocates wanted.

In April, three Baltimore-area congressional representatives called on the commission to rescind the previous year’s rate increase and halt future ones. Baltimore City Council members, led by Council President Zeke Cohen, wanted the commission to cancel the third year of BGE’s planned rate increases from the pilot program.

Cohen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

David Lapp of the Office of People’s Counsel said in a Monday statement that he was “disappointed” that consumer advocates’ request for the Public Service Commission to simply deny BGE’s reconciliation did not happen.

Still, he “applauded” the commission’s decision to lessen the impact on ratepayers.

“These numbers show that BGE’s spending forecasts cannot be trusted and that the company is failing to operate its business with the fiscal stewardship and financial prudence that its customers deserve,” he said.