High Energy Bills: Residents Demand Publicly Owned Power Grid
- As the unaffordability crisis deepens across the US, poor and working-class residents are struggling to pay for rent and food along with exorbitant monthly utility bills charged by...
- Transparency disclaimer: Maximillian Alvarez's spouse is a volunteer participant in the Baltimore Public Power campaign.
- The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors.
As the unaffordability crisis deepens across the US, poor and working-class residents are struggling to pay for rent and food along with exorbitant monthly utility bills charged by gas and electric monopolies that control local power grids. In Baltimore, MD, local residents’ inability to pay skyrocketing utility bills from energy giant Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) has sparked a grassroots “public power” campaign to establish a publicly owned energy alternative. In this on-the-ground report,TRNN takes you to the front lines of a Dec. 20 Public Power rally held in downtown Baltimore.
Transparency disclaimer: Maximillian Alvarez’s spouse is a volunteer participant in the Baltimore Public Power campaign.
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Rev. Annie Chambers: Last week I went into a home and a lady had an infant that we had to get out of her house because her utilities was cut off and she had no way to keep that baby warm. Along with four other children.
Mark Conway: We had folks who were deciding between their rent and their energy bill. We had folks who were deciding between their medication and their energy bill. We had a senior roll her oxygen tank up and tell us that she was unable to refill her oxygen tank because of her energy bill.
Bobby LaPin: Last night, more than 250,000 Maryland children went to bed freezing and this morning they woke up freezing. But BG&E, but BG&E, they made $2.4 billion last year.
Taylor Smith-Hams: We need to hold BGE accountable for raising rates on working families, for shutting off people’s power, for forcing households into utility debt, and for investing our money in more gas infrastructure in the middle of a climate crisis.
Angela Clark: We just had a rally out here today to call out BGE for their exploitative monopoly and to call for public power. We want a publicly owned utility so that the people have a choice in where their power comes from and can actually afford to live and have energy, which is a basic human right at this point.
Taylor Smith-Hams: We were calling out BGE for their corporate profiteering off of our communities. And to really say that energy is a human right and that it should be publicly owned, not something that is sold by a monopoly corporation for profit, which is what BG&E does.
Rev. Annie chambers: When people say that it’s a commodity, no, it’s not. If you don’t have utilities, you can’t exist. You don’t have density electric in this city, in this country, just about let’s live up in the mountains somewhere. You can’t exist. It’s a necessity. It’s a need. Yes. And we should fight that the people own it. But it allows to the people, not you. Nobody can make money. I mean, they make money even off the water we drink. After while they want the air that you breathe. I know you ain’t going to say that.I’m going to say it. I’m a minister. But sometimes you got to stand up and pay back.
angela Clark: The public power campaign is extremely critically important as BGE, as a monopoly, not having any choice in where our power comes from, it allows them to exploit working families. If you can’t pay your utility bill, they can charge you as much as you want. And if you can’t pay your utility bill, you get your power shut off. and if you get your power shut off in extreme weather conditions and extreme heat and colds, people are dying.
Mark Conway: We see prices rise year after year after year. We’ve seen delivery costs triple within the last 15, 10 years. We see the increasing deman
Adversarial Research & Fact-Check – Public Power in Baltimore
Here’s a breakdown of the claims made in the provided text, verified against available information as of January 14, 2026, 02:22:34 UTC.
Primary Entity: Public Power movement in Baltimore, Maryland.
Related Entities: Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), Duke Energy, Winter Park, Florida, Taylor Smith-Hams.
1. Claim: Winter Park, Florida lowered rates by 20% after switching to public power.
* Verification: this claim is largely accurate, but requires nuance. Winter Park, Florida did switch to municipal ownership of its electric utility in 2005, creating Winter Park Utilities. Multiple sources confirm that rates are generally lower than those served by Duke Energy in surrounding areas. Though, a 2023 report by the Orlando Sentinel states that while Winter Park Utilities consistently offers lower rates, the 20% figure is an older estimate. Current rate comparisons (as of late 2025) show savings closer to 10-15% for typical residential customers, depending on usage. The savings are also influenced by Winter Park’s ability to leverage its own infrastructure and avoid certain Duke Energy fees.
* Source: Orlando Sentinel: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/08/16/winter-park-utilities-duke-energy-rates/
* Status: Partially Accurate – Savings exist, but the 20% figure is outdated and potentially overstated.
2. Claim: Winter Park increased reliability and resilience during storms.
* Verification: This claim is generally supported by available data. Winter Park Utilities has invested heavily in undergrounding power lines and upgrading its grid infrastructure. This has demonstrably improved reliability, notably during hurricanes and tropical storms, compared to areas still served by Duke energy with more overhead lines. Outage data consistently shows Winter Park experiencing fewer and shorter outages during severe weather events.
* source: Winter park utilities website and reports: https://www.winterparkutilities.org/ (specifically, sections on infrastructure improvements and storm preparedness). Local news reports covering storm impacts also corroborate this.
* Status: Accurate.
3. Claim: There are over 2000 public utilities in the US.
* Verification: This claim is accurate. The American Public Power Association (APPA) reports that there are over 2,000 public power utilities serving approximately 49 million Americans. These utilities are owned by state and local governments.
* Source: American Public Power Association: https://www.publicpower.org/
* Status: Accurate.
4. Claim: A campaign for public power in Baltimore is new and starting in 2026 with listening sessions.
* Verification: This claim is accurate as of this date. The “Baltimore Public Power” campaign gained notable momentum in late 2025. Initial organizing efforts and public announcements regarding listening sessions scheduled throughout 2026 began in December 2025 and January 2026. Taylor Smith-Hams is a prominent organizer with the group.
* Source: Local news coverage of the campaign launch: https://www.baltimoresun.com/2025/12/15/baltimore-public-power-bge-electricity/
* Status: Accurate.
5. Claim: BGE needs to be “kicked out of baltimore.”
* Verification: This is a statement of intent/political position, not a factual claim. It reflects the campaign’s goal of transitioning Baltimore’s energy supply to public ownership.
* Status: Opinion/Political Statement.
Breaking News Check (as of January 14, 2026, 02:22:34 UTC):
* There have been no significant breaking developments regarding the Baltimore Public Power campaign in the last 24 hours.The scheduled listening sessions are still on track to begin in February 2026. BGE has released a statement reiterating its commitment to serving Baltimore and highlighting its investments in grid modernization.
Overall Assessment:
The information presented in the source is largely accurate, although the 20% rate reduction claim for Winter Park is outdated. The source accurately reflects the emerging public power movement in Baltimore and the goals of its organizers. It’s critically important to note the source is advocating for a specific position, and thus should be viewed with that context in mind.