Baltimore-area viewers who tune into the Super Bowl on Sunday evening will see the game and pop phenom Bad Bunny, but Baltimore Gas and Electric would also like a word.

The electricity and natural gas utility, a subsidiary of the Chicago-based Exelon, has purchased close to $70,000 in advertising for two spots set to run ahead of the big game’s kickoff and during postgame coverage, according to filings with the Federal Communications Commission.

The ads are part of a political fight in Maryland that’s increased in urgency as utility bills soar.

The most recent utility rate hikes fund BGE investments to replace gas lines dating as far back as the 1860s, but have been hitting customers as a weekslong cold spell grips the state.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence, increasing electrification and burgeoning data centers’ growing demand for power are stressing the regional power grid. Some worry there won’t be enough power to meet Maryland’s demand, which could lead to outages and higher bills.

BGE argues that a reasonable solution is for the state legislature to allow it to reenter the power-generation business, something that state ratepayer advocates and power plant companies oppose. Such a move would reverse decades of state energy and regulatory policy.

BGE’s 30-second spot opens with a customer hunched over a table in a dimly lit kitchen as he frets over a growing pile of utility bills. The frame then zooms out to show two silhouetted men in a glass office tower.

“Private power plant companies that control our power supply are failing to meet demand,” leaving customers with soaring bills, a voice-over intones.

Publicly regulated utility companies like BGE could be part of the solution by building power sources, the voice says, but “current rules stand in the way.”

“The system is broken,” it goes on. “It’s time to change the rules and put customers first.”

The Super Bowl-evening spots are part of an “education campaign” BGE announced late last month “designed to help Maryland customers better understand why energy bills are rising.”

The ad is also running during Winter Olympics coverage.

The push has drawn resistance from the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, a state-appointed utility watchdog that has pointed to BGE’s spending on its power and natural gas network as a primary driver behind bill increases. The ratepayer watchdog has argued that BGE’s ambition to build generation would expand its spending and allow the company to collect even more from customers.

BGE’s proposal has also prompted criticism from Exelon’s former sibling company, the Baltimore-based generation giant Constellation Energy — an unnamed target of the ads.

Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez has urged Maryland leaders not to let Exelon onto its turf. He even threatened to cut investment by his company should lawmakers pass legislation allowing BGE to own generation.

In a statement, Constellation spokesperson Paul Adams argued the ad is “another attempt by Exelon and BGE to change the subject” from the true reason for rising bills. While customers face mounting bills driven by BGE’s spending, BGE sinks money into commercials to push its agenda, Adams said.

“Maryland should see this for what it is — a risk-free attempt to boost guaranteed profits and stick customers with the bill,” he said.

Exelon has yet to find a lawmaker to introduce legislation allowing it to build and own power generation. A provision in existing law could allow Exelon to build power plants with the permission of regulators, but the company has sought explicit direction from lawmakers.

In total, BGE spent $150,000 on 93 WBAL spots between the last week of January and mid-February, according to FCC filings. This includes the two Super Bowl-evening ads and numerous spots set to run during NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage.

FCC filings show additional BGE ad buys on other local networks, including for $92,000 on Fox45.

Aside from television spots, the utility has paid for direct mailers, social media and other online advertising, said Michelle Hook, Exelon’s vice president of communications and marketing for MidAtlantic South, which includes BGE, Pepco and Delmarva Power.

Hook declined to share how much the company has spent on this campaign, but she stressed that the ads come at no cost to BGE customers.

Maryland law bars utilities from spending ratepayer money on advertising campaigns that burnish their image.

BGE believes its new ads fall into a “gray area” of this law, Hook said, since the company considers the messaging to be educational. But she said the utility nonetheless chose not to charge ratepayers for the ads. The money instead will come out of the return its shareholders earn on providing energy.

“We were very intentional because we know customers are hurting right now,” Hook said. “We don’t want to give the impression that we don’t care about that.”