Add a group of Baltimore City Council members to the list of people who are fed up with increasingly high bills from energy giant Baltimore Gas and Electric Company.

Councilman Isaac ‘Yitzy’ Schleifer, gathered in City Hall with seven of his colleagues Monday, said on Monday morning he plans to hold a series of hearings looking into BGE’s rate increases and business practices, with the first to come on Feb. 20. Schleifer chairs the legislative investigations committee.

“With BGE, we pay through the roof and we get projects that take way longer than expected, and then quality of work and follow-up that’s even worse,” Schleifer said.

Residents in Baltimore and around Maryland have been outraged for weeks over high BGE bills, especially for natural gas. The problem is transcending socio-economic boundaries.

Matthew Oetting, chef and owner of Marta in Butcher’s Hill, said his utility bill was around $2,500 last January. This year it was $4,000, a big blow for a business that operates on tight margins as it is.

“These numbers make a massive impact on my ability to remain profitable and keep the doors open,” Oetting said.

Nicole Rogers, who needs a walker to get around, lives off on disability benefits and relies on federal housing vouchers, said BGE threatened to cut off her power this winter over unpaid bills, and that the rate increases make it harder to stay afloat. She said she avoided a service cutoff because she got help from GEDCO, an area nonprofit.

“People in my situation shouldn’t have to rely on the kindness and assistance of others,” Rogers said.

Officials have said the high bills are a result of BGE’s pipeline replacement projects. Lawmakers and advocates are questioning whether all of BGE’s infrastructure projects are necessary, and whether the company is wrongly passing along costs to customers while shareholders are seeing record profits.

BGE previously disputed lawmakers’ characterizations and said increased costs are mostly due to factors outside the company’s control (market forces, decreased in-state generation of natural gas and colder temperatures).

In a statement, a BGE spokesperson pointed to recent steps it’s taking for customers, including waiving late payment fees for January and February, and suspending disconnections for nonpayment in February.

“We welcome the opportunity to continue making progress, whether through hearings or the various meetings and open houses we have scheduled for our customers in the city,” BGE spokesman Nicholas Alexopulos said. “These efforts are crucial as we focus on practical actions that support our customers.”

BGE has more than tripled the rate it charges for natural gas delivery since 2010, outpacing inflation in the process, according to a report last June from the Maryland Office of the People’s Counsel.

Regulating energy companies is the state’s responsibility and the Public Service Commission approves rate increases. Last week key Democrats — Attorney General Anthony Brown, state Del. Elizabeth Embry and City Council President Zeke Cohen — held a news conference outside of City Hall in support of a bill from Embry that would further regulate energy companies’ construction plans.

While the City Council doesn’t have much, if any, regulatory power over energy companies, it can serve as a soapbox. By calling hearings and drawing attention to the problem, city leaders hope BGE and the Public Service Commission feel more pressure to address it.

Cohen said Monday that the City Council would pull all the levers it could in an effort to address the BGE rate hikes. Asked what levers specifically could be pulled in addition to holding hearings, Cohen said to “stay tuned,” and that “every option is on the table.”

“Let me be clear, the City Council will stand with the rate payers of this region, not the shareholders of the gas and electric company. We stand with our people over their profits,” Cohen said. “We stand with workers, residents, restaurant owners and religious leaders, not a utility that holds a monopoly and has seen record returns.”