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Audit finds $1M in disputed energy credits; DGS says BGE agreed to reimburse majority
Summary
A Department of Audits review found large credit balances linked to virtual net‑metered solar accounts and weak agency participation in account verification. DGS said BGE’s allocation errors from May 2024–July 2025 produced duplicate or erroneous bills, identified approximately $670,000 in overpayments and has begun issuing reimbursement checks.
City Auditor Josh Pash presented a biannual performance audit of the Department of General Services (DGS) on Nov. 5, 2025 that examined energy bill management and renewable energy credits.
Pash said auditors reviewed EnergyCap records, virtual net‑meter accounts associated with the city’s solar generation, and sampling of flagged anomalies. Auditors found 176 virtual net‑meter accounts and identified roughly $1,000,000 in disputed credit balances as of July 2025; 22 accounts accounted for 45% of that total. Auditors warned that applying credits only against small monthly delivery charges could take decades to use those balances and recommended DGS negotiate direct reimbursements from Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) rather than leaving long‑term credits on account.
DGS Deputy Director Terrell Chesson and Julia Kalas, DGS division chief for energy, told the board BGE’s allocation process failed between May 2024 and July 2025 and produced duplicate and erroneous billing for some accounts. Kalas said DGS identified approximately $670,000 in overpayments that BGE agreed to refund; she said most of the expected checks had been received in the previous week and DGS was reconciling them for deposit. ‘‘October 9, BGE agreed to issue us the checks for the balances we identified as due to us. We have already received most of those checks in the mail in the last week,’’ Kalas said.
Auditors also found uneven agency participation in DGS’s verification of city energy accounts. DGS initially asked 12 agencies to confirm assets; six agencies responded and accounted for 317 of 745 assets reviewed. The review identified six assets billed to three non‑city entities; DGS prepared invoices of about $30,000 for approximately 36 months of charges and was pursuing refunds. Auditors recommended the city administrator enforce agency participation; DGS said it has established an SOP for annual agency asset verification and will escalate nonresponse to the City Administrator’s office.
Why it matters: Large unresolved credits and misallocated charges can obscure who actually pays utility costs and affect budgets managed through DGS’ internal service fund. Auditors recommended faster reimbursement and better agency cooperation to ensure the city is not paying for non‑city accounts.
What’s next: DGS told the board it will continue monthly meetings with BGE, complete reconciliation of checks already received and use a new SOP and agency escalation process to improve account verification.
