Economic Impact of the Baltimore Gas and Electric SEED Incentive Program from 2015-2020

The Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) “Smart Energy Economic Development” (SEED) Program was established in 2015 to serve as an economic development tool to provide discounts to businesses who purchased electric and natural gas services within the BGE Service Area if they committed to specific hiring and energy usage targets.

BGE commissioned ESI to complete an analysis of the potential economic and fiscal impacts of BGE’s current SEED program. The purpose of this analysis was to estimate the direct economic footprint and the spillover activity related to capital investments from the SEED program and its ongoing operations. In addition, ESI’s report described economic impact scenarios from possible expansion of the existing SEED program and the effects those scenarios would have on the local economy.

The direct capital investments and addition of jobs made through the SEED Program’s recipients represented a significant boost to the local and state economies. New jobs, their associated economic activity and direct construction investment both created a ripple effect of additional economic activity, which supported businesses and jobs throughout the state. This direct activity catalyzed the procurement of a wide range of goods and services, which translated into new economic opportunities for local and state vendors. The spending and spillover activity attributable to operations and construction also generated additional tax revenues to the City of Baltimore, the State of Maryland and five surrounding counties.