Exelon Found Their Guy. He's Been a Senator for 60 Days
Sen. Kevin Harris introduced Exelon's bill as the lone sponsor after every other lawmaker said no.
A few weeks ago I wrote an article breaking down how Exelon extracts wealth from Baltimore through BGE’s delivery fees. I pulled the numbers. Delivery rates tripled since Exelon bought BGE in 2012. Profits climbed from $147 million to $527 million while hazardous gas leaks increased. Baltimore homeowners pay $2 in delivery for every $1 of actual gas.
And I woke up this morning to find out that a Maryland state senator just introduced Exelon’s bill for them. At the last possible minute before a procedural deadline, like he was trying not to get caught.
Sen. Kevin M. Harris, a Democrat representing parts of Calvert, Charles, and Prince George’s counties, filed Senate Bill 954 on Monday night. He’s the lone sponsor. The bill is called the “Affordable Energy Act,” which is the kind of Orwellian naming that should make your blood boil. It would allow Exelon’s utilities, including BGE, to build and operate power plants in Maryland and pass all costs directly to ratepayers. This would reverse decades of state energy policy that deliberately separates power generation from power delivery, specifically to prevent the kind of monopolistic abuse that Exelon is already perfecting with delivery fees alone.
Let me say that again. The company that tripled your delivery rates, the company whose CEO makes $14.7 million a year, the company that proposed a 195-year repayment plan when it owed Baltimore $670,000, now wants the state legislature to let it spend even more of your money building power plants. And if those plants turn out to be unnecessary? You still pay. That provision is written directly into the bill. Ratepayers are on the hook for all costs, even “stranded” ones, even if the infrastructure is never built.
Maryland People’s Counsel David Lapp, the state’s ratepayer advocate, called it what it is: “The Exelon bill is anything but affordable.” He pointed out that Exelon’s own grid data shows Maryland’s power demands actually decrease through 2029 before growing only modestly after 2030. The supposed energy crisis Exelon is using to justify this power grab? It’s largely driven by data center demand in other states, not Maryland. But they want Maryland ratepayers to foot the bill anyway.
Harris told reporters that Exelon “had to do no convincing” to get him on board. I believe him, but not in the way he intended. The Baltimore Banner reported that Exelon struggled for weeks to find any lawmaker willing to introduce this bill. They have 34 registered lobbyists working Annapolis this session, more than any entity in the state. They spent $925,000 on lobbying last year. They’re the second biggest campaign donor in Maryland. They ran ads during the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics pushing this exact proposal, spending $150,000 on WBAL spots alone, plus tens of thousands more across other stations. And after all that money, all those lobbyists, all those steak dinners, they still couldn’t find a senator to carry their water until the filing deadline was hours away.
Then Kevin Harris stepped up.
Harris was appointed to his Senate seat by Governor Moore just two months ago, in December 2025. He’s been a senator for roughly 60 days. He sits on the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee, which is exactly where this bill will get its hearing. And when asked if this bill was even the right answer, he said, “Who knows whether this is the right one.” That’s the sponsor of the bill talking. He doesn’t even know if it’s good policy. He just knows Exelon wanted it introduced.
Here’s what makes this particularly infuriating. Every other lawmaker in Annapolis looked at this bill and said no. Even Senate President Bill Ferguson, who has been generally sympathetic to expanding in-state power generation, expressed skepticism. “There’s probably some more education and knowledge that needs to be provided before there is comfort with moving forward,” Ferguson said. The Chesapeake Climate Action Network noted that BGE “is really pulling teeth to try to move this forward.” Last year the legislative track was “greased” for energy companies. This year, it isn’t. Because people are paying attention to their bills.
Even Constellation Energy, Exelon’s former subsidiary and now competitor, is calling this out. Their spokesperson said it plainly: “BGE wants new law to guarantee a return on any investment, whether or not that investment is in the best interests of Maryland ratepayers or at the lowest cost.” Constellation says existing Maryland law already lets the PSC authorize utilities to build generation if regulators think it’s necessary. But that existing law doesn’t guarantee Exelon the fat profit margins it makes on infrastructure spending. This new bill does.
This is how regulatory capture works. A corporation can’t get what it wants through normal channels, so it finds the one lawmaker willing to do the job. Not because the policy is sound. Not because constituents are demanding it. Because Exelon needs a vessel, and Kevin Harris volunteered.
Harris represents Southern Maryland, not Baltimore, not the communities most devastated by BGE’s rate increases. But this bill wouldn’t just affect his district. It would affect every BGE, Pepco, and Delmarva Power customer in the state. Every family already choosing between heat and groceries this winter would see even more costs piled onto their bills to fund Exelon’s expansion into power generation, an expansion that the state’s own ratepayer advocate says isn’t needed.
I don’t think Kevin Harris should just withdraw this bill. I think he should resign. When you carry a corporate monopoly’s legislation at the last possible minute, as the lone sponsor, while admitting you don’t even know if it’s good policy, you’ve told the people of Maryland exactly who you work for. And it isn’t them.
If you live in Maryland, contact your state legislators. Call them. Email them. Tell them to oppose SB 954. Tell them that Exelon’s “Affordable Energy Act” is a corporate giveaway dressed in consumer-friendly language. Show up to the committee hearing when it’s scheduled. The Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee will have to hear this bill. Be there. Be loud.
And if you live in District 27, covering parts of Calvert, Charles, and Prince George’s counties, you should be asking Kevin Harris one simple question: Who sent you?
Way to contact Kevin Harris:
James Senate Office Building, Room 302
11 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 841-3700
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3 (toll free)
e-mail: kevin.harris@senate.maryland.gov
You can read my full breakdown of Exelon’s business model, BGE’s delivery fee explosion, and the regulatory failures that got us here in my previous article, “Dig. Bill. Profit. Repeat.”
If this article was useful to you, share it. Forward it. Post it everywhere. The only thing that changes this is enough people refusing to accept it.
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