The electric bill of Friendship Baptist Church, which costs more than $30,000, was questioned by its pastor, who refused to pay the bill. As a result, the energy company cut off the church's electricity supply.
Pastor's Refusal to Pay the Bill
Rev. Alvin Gwynn Sr., who has been pastoring the Friendship Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, for 34 years, claims that his typical monthly energy cost has been "maybe $1,200" over that time. However, Rev. Gwynn revealed that around two months ago, his prices from Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) had significantly increased, The Christian Post reported.
Based on the most recent invoice from the company, the church owed BGE a payment of $30,478.41, which was due on Easter Monday, Apr. 10. Rev. Gwynn has stated that he will not pay the charge "on principle" since there is no possibility that his congregation used so much electricity. Therefore, BGE disconnected the electricity supply to the church on the day the bill was due.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, he freely admits that there has always been a balance remaining on the church's power account in his name. On the other hand, he insists that he generally makes the necessary payments within a week or so. The pastor claims that the parish's fees have not been appropriately shown on his electricity bill and that BGE has been employing intelligent meters to increase the actual amount of energy used at his church.
Moreover, 2 ABC reported that BGE asserted that they collaborated closely with all of its customers, including Friendship Baptist Church, to provide aid in gaining access to a variety of payment alternatives and services for energy assistance.
In addition, BGE openly admits that disconnections occur, but the company does not want consumers who pay their bills to make up the tab for those who do not pay them.
Issues of Baltimore Gas and Electric
According to WYPR, during the meeting of the body of Estimates, which is the city's Board of Estimates meeting, Mayor Brandon Scott of Baltimore City and his two appointees managed to force a vote to approve an altered conduit agreement with BGE. According to the terms of that agreement, the private utility, which is a part of the publicly traded energy giant Exelon, will give the city an average of $134 million annually for the next four years to fund infrastructure upgrades.
Also, throughout that contract, it will be responsible for paying an annual rental cost of $1.5 million. It would be in place of BGE paying the municipal maintenance fees to invest in improvements throughout the 741-mile-long underground pipeline system, which would require upwards of one billion dollars to revamp.
As mentioned, council members have raised concerns about the possibility that the electrical company will shift the expenses of modernizing the conduit system onto its customers. During the time allotted for public comment, Christina Flowers, who lives in the Liberty Square neighborhood, voiced her displeasure with the BGE rate increase.
According to Flowers, "Every year since they've owned it, they've had a tremendous number of hikes," and "they've had tremendous amounts of hikes."
In response, Charles Washington, vice president of external and governmental affairs for BGE, said that the negotiated arrangement would lower consumer costs by $50 million over the long run.
However, the corporation is continuing to pursue an increase in the total cost that it would charge consumers for its products or services. The initial request that BGE submitted to the state commission last week asked for permission to raise the prices that customers pay for gas and electricity by 5% over the next three years.
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