[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 27, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S6136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF BALTIMORE GAS AND ELECTRIC

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I would like to take this 
opportunity to congratulate Baltimore Gas and Electric, BGE, which 
celebrated its 200th anniversary earlier this year. BGE, headquartered 
in Baltimore, is Maryland's largest natural gas and electric utility, 
delivering power to more than 1.25 million electric customers and more 
than 650,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. BGE's electric 
service territory is approximately 2,300 square miles, including 
Baltimore city and all or part of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, 
Carroll, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George's Counties. 
BGE's gas service territory is approximately 800 square miles, 
including Baltimore city and all or part of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, 
Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince 
George's Counties. The company employs approximately 3,200 people.
  BGE was founded on June 17, 1816, and has the distinction of being 
the Nation's first and oldest gas distribution company. BGE's rich 
heritage is intertwined with the city of Baltimore, dating back to the 
days of acclaimed American portrait painter and museum keeper Rembrandt 
Peale when he lit the first gas lamps at his museum on Holiday Street, 
which made quite an impression. Peale envisioned lighting the streets 
of Baltimore and held an important gas lighting patent. With some 
business associates, he incorporated BGE, originally known as the Gas 
and Light Company of Baltimore. Baltimore's first gas street lamps were 
lit on February 1817, which was 64 years before Baltimore's first 
electric companies appeared in the city.
  In 1906, the Consolidated Gas and Electric Light and Power Company 
was formed through a series of mergers, operating until 1955 when it 
was renamed Baltimore Gas and Electric; today it is proudly known as 
BGE and supports 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in Maryland and 
contributes almost $4 billion to the region's economy each year.
  The company and its employees have a long history of investing in the 
community and continue to strengthen that commitment by supporting more 
than 260 nonprofit organizations each year through charitable 
contributions and volunteer hours. The company also is a leader in 
promoting energy efficiency through a variety of means. I was proud to 
help secure a ``smart grid'' stimulus grant in 2009, which was 
instrumental in helping BGE install 2 million electric and gas smart 
meter devices throughout central Maryland. Today the company continues 
to help its customers take more control of their energy supply and 
management, and it will keep working with its customers and communities 
to promote clean energy resources while delivering energy in a safe, 
reliable, and clean manner.
  I would like to ask my Senate colleagues to join me in congratulating 
BGE on its 200th anniversary and thanking the dedicated employees, 
customers, businesses, and communities who helped BGE to achieve this 
milestone.

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