Overview
- Mayor Brandon Scott’s office unveiled the proposal on Tuesday, July 28, to replace the 2023 agreement with a $4.05 per linear-foot conduit fee that would take effect Jan. 1, 2027 and be adjusted for inflation.
- The administration says the city would resume capital improvements and rebuild its conduit division to accelerate repairs after a 2025 report and a series of underground fires identified widespread use of terra-cotta and Orangeburg pipe and other safety failures.
- Baltimore Gas & Electric issued a statement saying it cannot support the near-doubling because of customer affordability concerns and noted it expects to have made roughly $120 million in conduit upgrades by the end of 2026 under the 2023 deal.
- City officials argue the fee change shifts how upgrades are paid: when BGE finances capital work customers pay the utility interest and profit over decades, while conduit rent has been treated as an operational pass-through to users without added profit.
- The Board of Estimates will consider the proposal on Aug. 5 and its decision will determine who pays for remaining 2023 investments, how conduit maintenance is governed, and whether higher user fees or other cost shifts affect residents and telecom lessees.