(BALTIMORE – July 16, 2026) – One of the best parts of journalism is admitting when you don’t know something. During my recent interview with Baltimore Gas and Electric President and CEO Tamla Olivier, she asked me a question I wasn’t expecting. She explained that, just a few years ago, wholesale electricity capacity prices in our region had been around $29 per megawatt-day. Today, she said, they’re closer to $329. Then she looked at me and asked what that should mean. Looking back, I don’t think I gave my best answer. Maybe I sensed a trick question. Maybe I didn’t fully understand how wholesale electricity markets work. Whatever the reason, I answered based on what I thought I knew at the time. But journalism isn’t about pretending to know everything. It’s about learning. Too often, we expect journalists to arrive already knowing every answer. That’s not how good reporting works. My responsibility isn’t to know everything on day one. My responsibility is to ask questions, keep digging, challenge assumptions—including my own—and share what I learn with the public. I learned that interviewing someone about an issue is not the same thing as understanding it. The interview was the beginning of the reporting—not the end of it. So, after the cameras stopped rolling, I kept working. I spent days reading Maryland Public Service Commission materials, Office of People’s Counsel testimony, Exelon corporate filings, Maryland General Assembly legislation, and commentary from consumer advocates and business leaders. I spoke with people on multiple sides of the issue. And I learned something. So What Does $29 Becoming $329 Actually Mean? It means demand for electricity has grown much faster than supply. The figure Tamla referenced comes from the regional wholesale electricity capacity market operated by PJM Interconnection, which serves Maryland and a dozen other states. Capacity is bought and sold through competitive auctions designed to ensure there will be enough electricity available to meet future demand. When there isn’t enough generation available to comfortably meet that demand, auction prices can increase dramatically. Those higher wholesale capacity costs eventually work their way into customers’ electric bills—even though Baltimore Gas and Electric didn’t generate the electricity itself. That’s where Tamla Olivier’s explanation holds up. Under Maryland’s current regulatory framework, BGE is a transmission and distribution utility. It delivers electricity. It maintains the poles, wires, substations, and gas infrastructure. But it does not own competitive electricity generation assets. Under today’s law, it cannot simply decide to build and operate power plants. When Tamla told me BGE isn’t in a position to generate electricity “from a policy perspective,” she was accurately describing Maryland’s utility system as it exists today. I didn’t fully appreciate that during the interview. I do now. But That’s Not the Whole Story After I posted a clip from our conversation, an interesting discussion unfolded on Facebook between two people I respect: Wayne Frazier Sr., president of the Maryland Washington Minority Companies Association, and attorney and consumer advocate Tonya Baña. Wayne defended Tamla’s explanation of current…
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