ICYMI, check out this week's updated COVID-19 Community Testing Schedule! Please note that testing will *not* be happening at the Convention Center on Friday, 2/26. More information and testing sites can be found at our website, http://coronavirus.baltimorecity.gov/testing.
Some of the deregulated actors responsible for this debacle in Texas are the same actors here in Maryland selling predatory third party energy to our most vulnerable neighbors. Since 2014, families have paid $750 million MORE for energy in Maryland https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-electric-bills-were-28-billion-higher-under-deregulation-11614162780?mod=hp_lead_pos5
Please join the Baltimore City Senate Delegation for our Bill Hearing this Friday, February 26th.
The Hearing will be virtual and will begin at 9am. To stream the Hearing live, visit http://mgaleg.maryland.gov and scroll to the “Live Media” section.
Alongside Del. @BrookeELierman , @AARPMD, and others, we've been working to put an end to this unscrupulous practice - but we need your help. Tell your legislators to support SB31/HB397!
3rd party energy suppliers sell low, bill high, and then charge extreme fees for families looking to leave their contract. These numbers are from a real bill that a low-income family received from their unregulated supplier. It's a scam, and it's legal in Maryland. /1
“If you do nothing else, the disparity is going to get worse,” said state Sen. Mary Washington. “You keep saying there’s vaccine hesitancy, but that’s really a blaming-the-victim approach, whereas the data says we need more [availability]." https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-maryland-statewide-preregistration-portal-mass-vaccination-sites-20210222-ypbybdqjkjarnecipqdpgteacm-story.html
This is the practice we are working to end with SB31. It is a common sense, good policy bill, and we need YOUR support to help get this passed. Contact your Senators, contact your delegates, and tell them you want third-party energy supplies to stop preying on your neighbors!
In Maryland, some of our most vulnerable families are paying HUNDREDS more dollars a year after switching to third-party energy companies, who promise low rates and jack up the prices after the contract is signed - and it's completely legal.
The utility crisis in Texas, where some people are receiving bills for over $10,000 while they have no power, is only further proof of what can happen when states allow utility companies to take advantage of their consumers. https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/02/23/opinion-annapolis-showdown-on-utility-rip-offs/