A Common Cause Maryland report on deregulation in the power industry demonstrates that Marylanders are facing the extra burden of a sharp increase in the cost of electricity spurred by legislation passed in 1999 that deregulated and privatized the electric utility industry. Baltimore Gas & Electric (BG&E), which serves more than half of Maryland’s 2.08 million households, received a windfall of $1.15 billion as its customers saw their annual utility rates rise by an average of $743 per household.