By Ann E. Marimow and John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Leading Maryland Democrats are divided on whether lawmakers should return to Annapolis with the aim of securing a better electricity deal for ratepayers than the one negotiated by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) and the state's largest electric utility.

Two Democrats running for governor are pushing for a special legislative session, and the General Assembly's two presiding officers disagreed on that prospect yesterday.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said he considers it "necessary" for lawmakers to convene again and finish work on a rate relief plan that died in the final minutes of this spring's session. House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said he is not convinced that lawmakers could improve on the deal, which would delay rate increases of as much as 72 percent until after the election.

"Can we create something that's more attractive on our own?" Busch asked. "I don't know."

Busch's assessment puts him at odds with one of his top lieutenants, House Majority Whip Anthony G. Brown (D-Prince George's), who is running for lieutenant governor on Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley's ticket.

"The General Assembly should call itself back into session to look at measures to provide real rate relief," Brown said. "The majority of members with whom I've spoken believe the legislature should go back in."

O'Malley, who spoke by phone yesterday with Busch, told reporters: "I think you may see the legislature coming back and taking another shot at it."

O'Malley's Democratic rival for governor, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, wrote a letter two weeks ago, asking Miller and Busch for a special session.

Since then, Duncan's campaign Web site has urged visitors to call or write Ehrlich and legislative leaders. Under state law, the governor can call lawmakers back, or the General Assembly can convene a session with a petition signed by a majority of members.

"Democrats in the Maryland General Assembly can put a halt to this price gouging in a special session," the appeal on Duncan's Web site said.

Ehrlich's chief of staff, Chip DiPaula Jr., called the deal "the best we can do" given the realities of the deregulated electricity market the legislature created in 1999. Calling a special session "for the appearance of a solution," he said, "is counterproductive."

Busch said yesterday that his office has been bombarded with calls from lawmakers who want to know, "What can we do?"

When the legislature adjourned without a rate relief package, it dropped a critical bargaining chip in negotiations with Constellation Energy Group. The company is awaiting approval of a merger with Florida Power and Light Co., and lawmakers had threatened to push through bills that would have delayed the $11 billion deal and fired business-friendly utility regulators.

A plan O'Malley presented last week focused heavily on revamping the regulatory Public Service Commission and capping rates. Duncan's plan calls for re-regulating the industry and imposing rate caps.

But Busch said the legislature is constrained because the company has a legal right to recover the cost of purchasing power. If lawmakers could limit rates without the company's consent, "we'd be back in a heartbeat," he said.

Under Ehrlich's plan, which awaits PSC approval, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers could choose to pay the full 72 percent increase or phase in higher rates over 18 months, starting at 19 percent in July.

Customers who defer would pay a monthly fee -- about $19 for the typical bill -- for two years, beginning June 2007. But if Constellation's merger is approved, the company would put in $600 million, providing relief of about $4 a month.

Staff writer Matthew Mosk contributed to this report.