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For more than 160 years, Washington Gas has been distributing natural gas to customers in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. We bring natural gas to your home or business safely and reliably.
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WASHINGTON GAS Maryland E-News - Special General Assembly 2010 summary
Welcome to Washington Gas Maryland E-News, a periodic electronic newsletter about the company's efforts and activities in the state of Maryland. The purpose of the e-newsletter is to educate and inform community and civic leaders about the company, share insights into how it does business and provide news items of interest in Maryland. Specifically, future E-News updates will provide information on community events where Washington Gas representatives will be present to discuss various issues of importance. We believe this tool will be a valuable addition to our community outreach efforts and will provide helpful and timely information about the quality of service we provide to our customers. Feel free to forward this newsletter to other community-based organizations that you feel may be interested.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY SUMMARY REPORT
SESSION ENDING MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY REPORT
This year, the Maryland General Assembly convened its 2010 session on January 13 and adjourned on April 12. During that 90-day period, over 2,300 bills and resolutions were introduced. Following review of each measure, Washington Gas tracked, monitored and/or advocated for approximately 100-125 bills.
The following is a summary of action on a few of Washington Gas key priority bills:
Net Energy Metering - Fuel Cell: House Bill 821 (Delegate Barkley of Montgomery Co.) and Senate Bill 529 (Senator Garagiola of Montgomery Co.).
Washington Gas introduced this successful bill that will now include fuel cells with other eligible customer generation devices for net-metering. The net-metering concept allows energy customers who use self-generating devices to bank or sell back electricity to the electric grid. The legislation to include fuel cell generation is the first of its kind outside California.
Underground Facilities - Damage Prevention - Miss Utility Title 12 Rewrite: House Bill 1290 (Delegate Davis of Prince George's Co.) and Senate Bill 911 (Senator Astle of Ann Arundel Co.).
This bill represented an overhaul of Maryland's underground utility damage prevention law. Supported by a very diverse stakeholder group, the new law will, among other things, set provisions for underground excavation while establishing a damage prevention authority with the power to penalize violators of those provisions. The law will also establish the Maryland Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Education and Outreach Fund to be used to increase awareness of the tenets of the new law.
Other bills of interest to Washington Gas that were defeated or withdrawn included:
- Public Service Commission - Termination of Electric or Gas Service - Notice: House Bill 20
- Public Service Commission - Competitive Electricity and Gas Supplier Referral Program: House Bill 697 and Senate Bill 661
- Public Service Commission - Cost Reimbursement: House Bill 810 and Senate Bill 721
- Public Service Commission - Customer Education on Customer Choice: House Bill 1372 and Senate Bill 942
- Public Service Commission - Gas and Electric Service - Alternative Payment Agreements House Bill 985 and Senate Bill 713