The fight against Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s planned rate increases escalated Thursday as a contingent of city leaders took to the streets to rally residents against the energy giant’s proposal.

The group, led by City Council President Zeke Cohen and Councilman Antonio Glover, went door to door in East Baltimore’s Berea neighborhood asking residents to call or write to BGE or the Maryland Public Service Commission and complain about high energy costs.

“When I met with the head of the Public Service Commission, he told me that he wants to hear directly from Baltimoreans,” Cohen said. “Well, here is your chance.”

Officials are also circulating a petition asking the commission, which regulates energy companies, to cancel BGE’s planned 2026 rate increases. The petition can also be found online at www.tellbge.com, and Cohen encouraged people to go to the website and tell BGE “how you really feel.”

Outrage over high utility costs has been building for months, with BGE customers looking at an estimated 12.4% increase in their gas and electric bills by June.

“Since early January, BGE has held more than 80 events in communities throughout our service territory to engage with customers directly, answer their questions, and connect them to resources to help manage their energy costs,” the company said in a statement Thursday evening. “These conversations are substantive, not performative, and exemplify our commitment to putting customers first in everything we do.”

Virtually all residents whom council members spoke with Thursday were receptive to their efforts to rein in the gas and electric company. Even people who didn’t answer the door asked for the literature to be left on stoops — Councilwoman Odette Ramos communicated with one woman through her video doorbell.

Councilmembers have been inundated with calls from residents asking whether there was anything they could do about the high bills. Little has been offered in way of a solution until now.

“We see what you see, we feel what you feel, and we understand it,” Glover said in a plea to residents of his district and the city. “Your voices will no longer go unheard. We are here to fight for you.”

At a City Council hearing last month, BGE officials attributed high bills partly to extreme cold temperatures. Exelon, BGE’s parent company, told its shareholders that its 2024 financial performance exceeded expectations.

Troy Williamson, a 60-year resident of Edison Highway, said he does not feel like the average person has much of a voice and that rates had been going up “for no apparent, just reason.”

The company has been replacing gas lines throughout the Baltimore area in an effort to improve safety, officials said, but elected officials have been questioning whether all of the improvements were needed or were just a way to juice profits.

“BGE told us that rebuilding gas line infrastructure was about increasing safety,” Cohen said. “We agree that safety must come first, but handing them a blank check paid for by the ratepayers of this city doesn’t make anyone more safe.”

David and Deneen Colson, who live around the corner on North Ellwood Avenue, said they’ve been “hollering and screaming” about their utility bill for months. Deneen Colson said they used to pay a hundred-something a month a year ago and recently they’ve had bills as high as $400.

Asked if he thought a campaign like the petition drive could have an effect on future rate hikes, David Colson said yes, but only if enough people get involved.

“If everybody puts their foot on their [BGE’s] neck, sure it would,” he said.

Councilmembers Mark Conway, Mark Parker and Jermaine Jones were also present Thursday. U.S. Representatives Kweisi Mfume, Johnny Olszewski Jr. and Sarah Elfreth, all Democrats, have also spoken out against the high energy bills.

Cohen is hopeful that, with momentum building, BGE will be reconsider. “I am confident that we are going to make progress,” he said.