T der 636 was not wasted in Maryland, as within months of the pipeline changes, work was beginning on the formative process. This would bring competition and customer choice to a wider variety of gas customers than previously possible.
Within less than two years from the initiation of the Order 636 pipeline changes, the initial seeds of state change were formally sown with pilot program tariffs. In early 1995, the number of customers transporting gas bought from third-party producers, marketers, or brokers included only 200 large customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), 50 of Columbia Gas of Maryland (CGMD), and a handful of customers of Washington Gas Light (WGL). By late summer that year, initial restructuring change was a fait accompli. Now, approximately 2,800 commercial and industrial customers of BGE, 2,000 of WGL, and 200 of CGMD, as well as 6,550 residential customers of WGL and 200 of CGMD, are buying their gas directly in competitive markets. Approximately half of Maryland's commercial customers are now eligible for transportation service. In November 1997, BGE residential customers will be joining this process, as they will become eligible for transportation service through a 25,000-customer pilot program.