BALTIMORE, MD (Monday, September 19, 2022) – A Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) subcommittee on energy purchasing saved a record $32.5 million on electricity in fiscal year 2022, and has saved a total of $216.5 million since its inception in 2006 when compared to the local electric utility (BGE) standard offer service fixed rate alternative.

The Energy Board, a subcommittee of BMC’s Baltimore Regional Cooperative Purchasing Committee (BRCPC), oversees energy procurement for participants including city and county governments, public schools, community colleges and a few nonprofits throughout central Maryland. The combined portfolios of these participants, including both electricity and natural gas, represented an annual energy supply spend of $107 million in fiscal year 2022.

BMC Executive Director Mike Kelly celebrated the record saving, which helps cushion the surge in energy prices that Energy Board participants and communities are facing throughout the region.

“We at BMC are committed to working with our partner agencies to support the health and prosperity of the region,” Kelly said. “The savings generated by the Energy Board illustrate that we’re stronger together.”

Energy Board Chair Matthew Carpenter, Baltimore County’s Chief of Budget and Administration, noted that as prices have risen in many sectors, the price of electric and natural gas has seen some of the steepest increases. According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index released in March, the cost of electricity in the Baltimore region jumped 18.4 percent compared to the previous year, while the cost of natural gas jumped 21.2 percent.

He explained that the Energy Board participants collectively hedge electric and natural gas purchases over a three-year period, avoiding costs that would incur if individual participants purchased power at the standard rate and helping to lessen the impacts of volatile spikes in the energy market.

“The Energy Board’s strategy has definitely paid off,” Carpenter said. “This level of cost avoidance provides assurance that the members have taken the management of their publicly-entrusted funds very seriously.”

Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, BMC’s board chair, hailed the work of the Energy Board as a welcome collaboration.

“I’m proud of BMC’s role in securing these savings,” Glassman said. “Now more than ever, we need more of this smart, fiscally-responsible thinking in Maryland.”

Noel Chesser, a principal advisor with Energy Board consultant Enel X, said that as global oil and natural gas prices saw historic increases due to a convergence of factors, Enel X has assisted participants with both cost- and energy-saving efforts. He noted that Enel X has also kept an eye on developments in renewable energy, and will continue to help Energy Board participants decrease reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

To learn more about the Energy Board, click here.

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Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) works collaboratively with the chief elected officials in the region to create initiatives to improve quality of life and economic vitality. As the Baltimore region’s council of governments, BMC hosts the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board (BRTB) and supports local government by coordinating efforts in a range of policy areas including emergency preparedness, housing, cooperative purchasing, environmental planning and workforce development.

BMC’s Board of Directors includes the executives of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties, the mayor of the City of Baltimore, a member of the Carroll County and Queen Anne’s County boards of commissioners, a member of the Maryland State Senate, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and a gubernatorial appointee from the private sector.