The Power Drain

Local utility companies sold off the power plants to other private companies and, in Virginia and Maryland, utility rates were uncapped. In Virginia, the increases were designed to come more slowly, but steadily.

The expected competition never arrived, however. Some power companies became essentially minimally regulated monopolies with the power to raise rates for a commodity people need to live.

"Deregulation worked terribly," said Charles Acquard, executive director of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates. "Nowhere has it worked, and consumers have been paying a price for that experiment ever since. . . . It's been a failed experiment everywhere it's been tried."

Deregulation has not lived up to its promise, power company officials agree.

"We're fully aware and sensitive to what's happening to our customers," said Joseph M. Rigby, president and chief operating officer of Pepco Holdings. Whether deregulation was a good decision for ratepayers "is obviously an open question from their point of view," he said.

Power company officials say rates have risen because they have been hit with higher costs, which had to be passed on to customers. The prices of natural gas and coal have increased sharply, partially as the aftereffect of tropical storms. Some power companies sold their plants to other companies, which now earn their own profits by selling electricity back to the power companies. And because the region imports electricity from other areas, through the regional electricity transmission grid, utilities have to compete to buy electricity on the open market and pay whatever the market will bear.

Local power company officials also say that prices in the past were artificially low and, now that rate caps have been lifted, they need to charge more for deferred maintenance and to add new capacity at a time when residents are gobbling up more and more electricity.

Power company profits have certainly risen in the years since deregulation. Mirant, which bought the five local Pepco plants, had declared bankruptcy in 2003 but earned $433 million in 2007. The net income of Constellation Energy, the holding company for Baltimore Gas & Electric, rose from $277.3 million in 2003 to $821.5 million last year.

On its Web site, Constellation points out to investors that $100 in company stock on Dec. 31, 2002, was worth $419.51 by the end of 2007.

Utility executives say the power companies offer programs to help people who need assistance in paying their bills. Washington Gas spokesman Eric Grant said the company contributes to the Washington Area Fuel Fund, which provides assistance to homeowners who need help paying utility bills, and offers payment plans that people can use to spread out their costs over a longer time.

"There are programs in place to assist customers who are having problems paying their bills," Grant said. He said customers who are in financial distress should contact the company for more information.

Mann, the Waldorf grocery clerk, said he believes that power company officials have rigged the system to their own advantage.

Acquard, the consumer advocate, agrees. "The power lobby is very strong, very effective, and there's a lot of dollars on the table," he said.