Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. is locked in a bitter dispute with city government over the cost of using the municipal conduit system. At the same time, the company is investing heavily in the campaign of state Sen. Catherine E. Pugh, who is running for mayor.
Campaign finance filings show that more than 30 employees of BGE and parent company Exelon have donated to Pugh’s campaign — including $4,000 in contributions from BGE’s political action committee — for total of $17,500. CEO Calvin G. Butler Jr. gave her $1,000.
The company last year tried to buy the city’s potentially-lucrative conduit system for $100 million, a figure city officials called too low. In September, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s administration chose to triple the rate firms pay to use the system, costing BGE millions. The company has sued to try to block the rate hike.
Rawlings-Blake is not seeking re-election.
If elected mayor, Pugh said she wouldn’t be influenced by BGE’s donations. She said she believed company officials donated because she they think she is strong on energy policy.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Luke Broadwater over at the Baltimore Sun