A Maryland state delegate said Tuesday he will introduce a bill that would prohibit utilities from sending customers unsolicited light bulbs and adding the cost to their monthly bills.

Kevin Kelly, D-Allegany, objected to an Allegheny Power promotion aimed at encouraging consumers to switch to energy-efficient, compact fluorescent bulbs. The company sent a pair of the bulbs to each of its 220,000 Western Maryland customers and is billing them $11.52, spread out over 12 months as a 96-cent surcharge.

The program was approved by the state Public Service Commission, an independent state agency that regulates state utilities.

As news of the mailings and surcharge spread this week, Allegheny Power and the commission said they received about 185 calls about the program from customers, some of whom wanted to send the bulbs back to avoid the surcharge.

"I find it very disturbing that the Public Service Commission would sanction this surcharge," Kelly said. "The power company is charging a premium price and I assure you, you can go to Lowe's or Wal-Mart and buy them at a significant price difference."

Company spokesman Todd Meyers said Allegheny Power, a unit of Allegheny Energy Inc., of Greensburg, Pa., made no profit on the bulbs, charging only what it cost to buy and mail them.

"The cost of the bulbs will be equal to the customer's savings for one year. Because the bulbs can last seven years, the customer can save another $72 after the first year," Meyers said.

He said concerned customers were directed to the customer service center at 1-800-255-3443.

There, customer service representatives explained that the energy conservation surcharge had been approved by the PSC and was not optional.

Customers who do not want to waste unwanted bulbs may contact their manufacturer, Niagra Conservation, to ask about sending them back, a representative said.

LaWanda Edwards, a spokeswoman for the Public Service Commission, said many of the approximately 60 people who called Tuesday just wanted to vent.

She said the bulbs Allegheny sent out use 75 percent less energy than traditional bulbs and last, on average, 10 times longer.

"The commission believes that the compact flourescent light bulb programs are truly in the public interest because they will encourage and provide incentives for consumers, as a starting point to concerve energy," Edwards said.

The commission released a report in December highlighting an impending energy crisis that would force mandatory usage restrictions by 2011 unless steps were taken toward conserving energy or increasing capacity, Meyers said.

Though energy-saving light bulbs have been available for some time, residential customers have been slow to take them up, so the power company introduced the mailing as a way to encourage customers to try them.

The company didn't tell customers they would be paying for the bulbs when it announced the program in September, but Meyers said that information was available in public filings with the PSC.

Kelly said most people probably think they got two free light bulbs from the company. He said he has asked the Maryland Department of Legislative Services to draft a bill to prohibit the PSC from authorizing such promotions.

Staff writer Heather Keels contributed to this story.

Allegheny Energy: http://www.alleghenyenergy.com

Public Service Commission: http://www.psc.state.md.us/psc