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PSC staff recommends accepting 2024–25 standard-offer bids; staff estimates average residential bills up 0.9%
Summary
Commission staff told the Public Service Commission that a June bid day for standard-offer service produced competitive bids and that accepting the results would raise average residential bills about 0.9% (roughly $18.53 per year); staff provided detailed bill-impact estimates for four utilities.
A Public Service Commission staff presentation on June 5, 2025, recommended the commission accept results from the June 2 standard-offer service (SOS) bid day for the 2024–25 SOS request for proposals, and said staff estimates average residential bills will increase 0.9% from June 2025–May 2026 to June 2026–May 2027.
The recommendation came during deliberations on Case No. 90569064, when Marjorie Romero, manager at Bates White, testified that the RFP process was open, fair and transparent and that bids were evaluated primarily on price. Romero said nine bidders participated, producing 3.8 megawatts of proposed supply and six winning bids; staff compared that to January 2025, when there were nine bidders and four winners.
Romero said, "the bidding was open, fair, and transparent," and that all bidders signed the same contract and were evaluated on price. She added that no winning bids were rejected under the path or price anomaly threshold and that staff verified and monitored communications with bidders.
Drew McAuliffe, director of the electricity division, summarized staff's bill-impact estimates and evidence supporting the recommendation. McAuliffe said the average residential bill will rise 0.9%, "which translates to approximately $18.53 per year," and that the SOS portion of that bill is increasing 1.5%.
McAuliffe presented more granular estimates by utility and season. For Potomac Edison he reported estimated fall 2025 average bills increasing 11.2% to 12.9% relative to fall 2024, and that SOS rates for Potomac Edison are estimated to decrease 17.8% from summer to fall. For Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), staff estimated fall 2025 average bills increasing about 20.2% to 24.6% year-over-year, with SOS rates decreasing 16.5% to 17.4% from summer to fall. For Delmarva, staff estimated fall bill impacts of 6.6% to 11.4% and SOS rates decreasing 18.1% to 25% from summer to fall. For Pepco, staff estimated fall 2025 average bills increasing 18.9% to 21.6% and SOS rates decreasing about 13% from summer to fall.
Romero and McAuliffe said the solicitation mainly procured type 2 service and some Potomac Edison residential service. Romero said the June bid day produced more winners than the comparable January 2025 procurement (six winners vs. four) and that bids were consistent with market conditions.
No formal motion or commission vote was recorded in the transcript excerpt. Staff marked two exhibits into the administrative record: Romero's "Direct Testimony of Marjorie Romero, dated 06/05/2025" (admitted as Staff Exhibit 1) and "Commission Staff's Report on the Standard Offer Service Bidding Process and Results for 2025 to 2027" (admitted as Staff Exhibit 2). Both witnesses stated they had no corrections to their testimony and were available for questions; no questions were recorded in the excerpt.
The hearing record shows staff's recommendation and supporting analysis but does not include a commission decision in the provided transcript excerpt. The commission adjourned after staff indicated it had no further witnesses.
