Baltimore Electric Choice Rates: Compare at 1000 kWh

If you live in Baltimore City or the surrounding metro and your electric bill feels like a mystery, you are not alone. Most households think in dollars per month, but suppliers quote cents per kilowatt-hour (¢/kWh). 1,000 kWh per month is the standard middle anchor that turns those quotes into something you can actually compare—roughly $10 in supply cost for every 1¢/kWh at that usage, before delivery riders and fees stack on.

This guide is for Baltimore-area residents and small-business owners who are shopping, switching, renewing, or simply trying to decode a postcard rate. It explains how electric choice works under Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), what Standard Offer Service (SOS) means as your benchmark, and how to run honest 1,000 kWh math in a market that changed sharply after SB 1.

Why Baltimore shoppers compare at 1,000 kWh

A kilowatt-hour is one kilowatt of demand sustained for one hour. Your supply charge scales with kWh; so does the dollar impact of any rate spread. When a marketer quotes 12.5¢/kWh, multiplying by 1,000 kWh gives $125 in supply energy for that month—before monthly admin fees, taxes, or regulated delivery lines.

Maryland does not require Texas-style Electricity Facts Labels with fixed 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh average-price rows. Still, brokers, utilities, and consumer guides normalize offers to 1,000 kWh because it sits near typical residential load. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported the average U.S. residential customer used about 899 kWh per month in 2022—close enough that 1,000 kWh functions as a practical decision lens, not a prediction of your exact bill (¹).

1,000 kWh is a spreadsheet shortcut. Pull twelve months of usage from your BGE portal. If your median month is 650 kWh, model that band too. If July hits 1,400 kWh with central air, run the same plan at peak load. The comparison question is always: At the kWh I actually use, what does this supply offer cost versus SOS?

BGE, Baltimore, and Maryland electric choice

Maryland restructured retail electricity in 1999, when the General Assembly deregulated the state's electric market so consumers can choose their electricity provider while the local utility continues to operate the grid (²). In choice states, EIA describes the split plainly: customers may buy from an alternate supplier that generates or markets power, often called a retail electricity marketer, while the distribution utility delivers contracted electricity to the meter and bills for that delivery service (³).

For most Baltimore addresses, that distribution utility is Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE). DSIRE notes BGE provides gas and electric service to most of central Maryland—the territory that includes Baltimore City and much of the inner suburbs (²). Offers are territory-specific; a Pepco Montgomery County rate does not apply to a Charles Village rowhouse on BGE.

EIA's 2024 Maryland Electricity Profile shows how large competitive supply already is statewide: about 59.0 million MWh of total retail sales, split between roughly 32.0 million MWh from full service providers and 27.1 million MWh from energy-only providers—customers buying supply competitively with delivery still from the utility (⁴). The statewide average retail price across all customer classes was 15.04¢/kWh in that reporting year (⁴).

Residential participation, however, has always been thin. EIA's analysis of early choice programs noted residential retail choice participation in Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware has not exceeded 4%, with little residential momentum in several Northeast choice states (⁵). Low participation does not mean rates are irrelevant; it means many Baltimore households still ride default SOS and never model a competitive quote at 1,000 kWh.

Supply vs. delivery: what you can and cannot switch

Think of your BGE bill in two layers:

Supply (generation commodity) — priced in ¢/kWh. This is what electric choice lets you shop. If you do nothing, BGE procures default supply through Standard Offer Service (SOS), sometimes marketed as the price to compare.

Delivery (wires, metering, outage response) — regulated charges that do not go away when you switch suppliers. EIA notes that regardless of supplier, the distribution utility delivers power and charges for that service (³).

Retail prices reflect both layers plus policy riders. EIA explains that electricity prices generally reflect the cost to build, finance, maintain, and operate power plants and the grid, and that retail prices are usually highest for residential and commercial consumers because distribution to smaller accounts costs more per kWh (⁶).

At 1,000 kWh, a 0.5¢/kWh supply spread equals $5.00 on energy. A 0.5¢/kWh delivery rider swing is also $5.00—but only the supply slice changes when you pick a marketer. That is why honest comparison isolates supply ¢/kWh versus SOS before you celebrate a green-energy logo or a door-to-door teaser.

BGE Standard Offer Service: your Baltimore benchmark

Any competitive offer should beat the all-in supply value of SOS for your customer class and season—not a national blog average.

EIA's latest Table 5.6.B (year-to-date reporting window) puts Maryland's residential average retail price at 20.84¢/kWh, up from 18.44¢/kWh in the prior-year period, with an all-sectors average of 15.95¢/kWh versus 11.75¢/kWh year-over-year (⁷). Those figures blend supply, delivery, taxes, and usage patterns—they are not identical to SOS supply energy alone, but they frame how expensive Maryland bills have become while you evaluate a supplier postcard.

For a tighter BGE anchor, trade press tracking filed tariffs provides season-specific SOS components. In April 2025, EnergyChoiceMatters reported that BGE's Schedule R residential bypassable transmission rate would increase from 1.682¢/kWh to 2.322¢/kWh effective June 1, 2025—about 0.64¢/kWh, or roughly $6.40 per 1,000 kWh, independent of which supplier you choose (⁸).

The same filing coverage tracked how capacity and transmission updates moved BGE's indicative Total SOS Rate for Schedule R residential customers for June 1–September 30, 2025 from an initially filed 11.896¢/kWh to 13.484¢/kWh and then a proposed 14.146¢/kWh as components updated (⁸). For the October 1, 2025 through May 31, 2026 period, the Schedule R residential energy rate (supply and capacity component) was filed at 11.689¢/kWh, up from the summer 11.420¢/kWh (⁸).

Read those lines carefully: energy rate, transmission rate, and total SOS rate are not interchangeable rows on a worksheet. Comparing a supplier teaser to the wrong SOS line is the most common way to think you saved money when you did not.

The 1,000 kWh math: three Baltimore comparisons

"Compare at 1,000 kWh" should mean: translate each supply quote and SOS benchmark into dollars for the same 1,000 kWh, then add any monthly admin fees. Delivery riders apply either way.

Comparison 1 — BGE Schedule R energy only

Using the filed Schedule R energy rate of 11.689¢/kWh for October 2025 through May 2026:

SOS supply energy ≈ 11.689¢ × 1,000 kWh = $116.89

That is the energy/capacity supply component cited in the filing—not the full bill (⁸).

Comparison 2 — Indicative total SOS generation (summer window)

Using the proposed 14.146¢/kWh indicative Total SOS Rate for June–September 2025:

Indicative SOS generation ≈ 14.146¢ × 1,000 kWh = $141.46

That is about $24.57 higher than the $116.89 energy-only anchor for a different season—because the benchmark moved, not because you switched suppliers (⁸).

Comparison 3 — All-in residential context

EIA's 20.84¢/kWh Maryland residential average blends delivery, taxes, and seasonal usage (⁷). A rough $208 mental model at 1,000 kWh helps spot outlier marketing, but your printed bill will diverge with riders. Your competitive decision lives in the supply slice you control.

When a live supplier quote appears, the monthly supply premium is:

Premium ≈ (Supplier ¢/kWh − SOS ¢/kWh) × 1,000 kWh + fee differences

Always reconcile against the contract PDF, not a door hanger.

SB 1 and what changed for Baltimore households

Maryland's SB 1 retail market reform bill was signed in May 2024 and reshaped the residential market (⁹). Core residential provisions include:

• Non-green residential offers capped no higher than the trailing 12-month average SOS rate in your utility territory at signing.
• Residential terms capped at 12 months.
• End of purchase of receivables (POR) for residential receivables, pushing many households toward dual billing or supplier consolidated billing.

The Federal Trade Commission's work on electric restructuring emphasized that consumers shop most effectively when they can compare timely, comparable information about prices and terms, and that vigilant enforcement against unfair or deceptive business practices is critical as retail markets open (¹⁰). SB 1 tried to impose comparability by tying residential prices to SOS—but it collided with supplier exits.

By June 2025, Maryland Public Service Commission Staff told commissioners there was "no residential supply market at this point," with retail suppliers "not making any new offers" to residential customers (¹¹). Staff reported "a lot" of complaints from customers who could not find offers online or were dropped when suppliers left Maryland (¹¹).

Practical impact for Baltimore:

• SOS benchmarking still matters even when few marketers compete—your default supply price continues to move on regulatory schedules.
• 1,000 kWh math helps you judge whether an existing contract still beats SOS when renewal windows open.
• Commercial and small-business accounts may still see broker activity even when residential portals look empty; verify that any quote matches your rate class and BGE territory.

Consumer Reports notes that in states allowing supplier choice, it is worth comparing rates regularly and switching when you find a better deal, while using state lists and comparison resources for licensed suppliers (¹²). In Baltimore today, that advice may translate to monitoring SOS as much as chasing a postcard.

How to compare Baltimore electric choice offers at 1,000 kWh

1. Confirm BGE is your distribution utility on the bill header—not your mailing city alone (²).
2. Pull twelve months of kWh from BGE's portal; note July and January separately before trusting a flat 1,000 kWh shortcut (¹).
3. Write down today's SOS / price-to-compare for your class from BGE's posted tariff pages—the same benchmark SB 1 uses for residential caps (⁹).
4. Build the same table for every offer: supply ¢/kWh, term, monthly fee, early termination fee, pass-through clauses, estimated $/month at 1,000 kWh.
5. Run three usage bands—80%, 100%, and 120% of your median month—to catch minimum-use fees.
6. Verify licensing with the Maryland Public Service Commission before sharing your account number; the FTC stressed policing non-deceptive advertising and unfair or deceptive billing practices in competitive electric markets (¹⁰).
7. Reconcile the first bill against your worksheet. Delivery lines should look familiar; supply should match contract math (¹³).

Texas residents use the Public Utility Commission's Power to Choose portal as an official comparison path for ERCOT retail offers (¹⁴). Maryland has no identical state-run site; Baltimore shoppers rely on utility SOS postings, PSC licensing records, and licensed broker platforms—always translating results to 1,000 kWh (and your real usage bands) before enrolling.

Bottom line

Baltimore electric choice splits the bill: BGE keeps the wires; you may choose who sells supply. State data show rising residential averages—20.84¢/kWh year-to-date in EIA's latest table—and a large competitive supply footprint statewide, even as residential participation stayed below 4% in EIA's historical analysis (⁷; ⁵).

Compare at 1,000 kWh by isolating supply ¢/kWh versus BGE SOS for your season, multiplying by your real kWh, and adding fees—using filed Schedule R anchors such as 11.689¢/kWh energy and 14.146¢/kWh indicative total SOS when applicable (⁸). After SB 1, many Baltimore households will spend more time tracking default SOS than switching marketers (¹¹). Either way, the discipline is the same: headline rates lie; 1,000 kWh spreadsheets do not.