Baltimore Gas & Electric,Bioenergy Devco,
Date: 2021-10-18
In Maryland, the state's largest utility Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) reports it is the first utility in the state to receive Maryland Public Service Commission regulatory approval for the use of renewable natural gas (RNG) on its gas distribution system. Approval comes as Maryland's first RNG plant, owned and operated by Annapolis-based Bioenergy Devco, nears completion in Howard County, as previously reported.

BioEnergy Devco's flagship food waste-to-RNG plant is expected to begin production in Q1, 2022, and will generate enough gas to power the equivalent of nearly 5,000 homes' annual usage. (Source: BGE, PR, Business Monthly, 12 Oct., 2021) Contact: Bioenergy Devco , Shawn Kreloff, CEO, (443) 782-3427, info@bioenergydevco.com, www.bioenergydevco.com; BGE, www.bge.com

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Baltimore Gas and Electric,ENERGY STAR
Date: 2020-04-15
0 Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) reports its BGE Smart Energy Savers Program® has been recognized by the DOE ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year -- Sustained Excellence Award.

The BGE Smart Energy Savers Program® features a comprehensive portfolio of energy efficiency programs to help customers reduce energy demand and usage in support of EmPOWER Maryland which is funded by a charge on customers' energy bill.

BGE customers are expected to save more than $5.3 billion as a result of the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program® and have reduced their electricity use by 4.6 billion kilowatt hours since 2008. (Source: BGE, M2 Communications, MarketScreener, 14 April, 2020) Contact: ENERGY STAR, www.energystar.gov; BGE, Laurie Duhan, Energy Efficiency Manager,www.BGESmartEnergy.com; EmPOWER Maryland, www.bgesmartenergy.com

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ACEEE
Date: 2020-02-24
According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's (ACEEE) just released 2020 Utility Energy Efficiency Scorecard, the 52 largest U.S. electric utilities have dramatically increased their overall energy savings as they adopt innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Utilities leading the way are National Grid Massachusetts and Eversource Massachusetts, which tied for first place for the second time, followed by San Diego Gas & Electric, Commonwealth Edison in Illinois, Baltimore Gas and Electric and Pacific Gas & Electric, in that order. Rounding out the top 10 are the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), DTE in Michigan, Portland General Electric, and Eversource CT in that order.

The scorecard notes that, as a group, the utilities boosted their annual energy savings by 20 pct since 2015, saving almost 20 TWh of electricity in 2018 from programs administered that year -- enough to power 1.8 million homes.

The report highlights the ways in which the utility landscape has transformed since 2015, the baseline for the 2017 scorecard. New technologies are emerging -- states, utilities, and other stakeholders are increasingly focused on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the important role of energy efficiency with more than 900 different efficiency programs in 2018, about 300 more than in 2015. Additionally, 32 utilities piloted new programs that involve smart thermostats, online marketplaces for energy-saving products, commercial energy efficiency financing, and integration of efficiency with other DERs such as demand response and storage.

While overall energy savings increased, this upward trend was not universal, and seven utilities saw their energy savings decrease by more than 20 pct since 2015.

The scorecard also found that, while there is increased focus on changing utility business models nationally, utilities are generally slow to change these models and are often reluctant to give customers access to energy usage data.

The scorecard, which received no utility funding, increases the availability of utility-sector energy efficiency data to enable benchmarking and help utilities strengthen their programs. ACEEE focuses on the 52 largest electric utilities by retail sales volume, including all 51 utilities from its 2017 Scorecard, plus Tampa Electric.

Download the 2020 Utility Energy Efficiency Scorecard at www.aceee.org/utility-scorecard. (Source: ACEEE, 21 Feb., 2020) Contact: ACEEE, Steven Nadel, Exec. Dir., www.aceee.org

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