2025 legislative wrap-up
On Monday, April 7th, the Maryland General Assembly concluded its 447th legislative session. Over the course of 90 days, the 188-member body considered 2,605 bills—ultimately passing 878 (about 34%).
Among this flurry of legislation, OPC identified and monitored 134 bills—and associated cross-files—related to energy, utilities, consumer protection, and state agency operations. These bills addressed many topics with potential impacts on utility customers, including:
- reigning in gas infrastructure investments;
- restrictions on utilities recovering trade association dues and private jet costs from customers;
- limitations on when and how utilities can use multi-year rate plans;
- incentives for new in-State nuclear power generation;
- expediting citing and certificate of public convenience and necessity proceedings for certain generating facilities;
- residential customer protections from data center power demands;
- creating an independent office for energy modelling and planning;
- promoting the rapid deployment of battery storage; and
- studies on several topics, including to evaluate the impacts of data centers and the potential for an independent electric distribution operator.
Our office advocated on behalf of residential utility customers on 25 distinct bills and relevant cross-files. All told, OPC provided written testimony 33 times and testified orally 8 times this session. OPC also presented to legislators, as well as groups of constituents, on high winter utility bills.
OPC supported a number of bills that passed in full or as part of a package of energy bills advanced by legislative leadership, several of which should help prevent rate increases in the near future and could save customers hundreds of millions of dollars over the long term. The recap below summarizes some of the legislation that should benefit utility customers in the near-term.
-
Conditions on Multi-Year Rate Plans (HB 1035/SB 937, Public Utilities Article § 4-213): The legislation prohibits the Public Service Commission from approving multiyear rate plans unless the utility’s plan demonstrates “customer benefits” and, if an MRP is approved, bars the utility from additional rate increases (called “reconciliations”), beyond the initially approved rates.
-
Data center tariffs (HB 1035/SB 937, PUA § 4-212): HB 1035’s tariff provisions will help protect residential customers from the risks and costs of large load customers, defined as customers with electric loads of 100 megawatts or more. Utilities are required to have “tariffs”—essentially rules approved by the Public Service Commission—that control the costs of connecting large load customers, such as hyperscale data centers, to the electric system. The rules must address potential cancellations of data center projects that could leave customers on the hook for electric system investments for connecting a proposed-but-cancelled data center.
-
Gas pipeline replacement work (HB 1035/SB 937, PUA § 4-214): The legislation modifies the Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement Plan (STRIDE) law, which allows for accelerated cost recovery for gas replacement infrastructure, by requiring utilities to evaluate cost-effective alternatives to pipe replacement work, prioritize risk reduction, and provide advance notice to customers before any replacement work starts.
-
Gas infrastructure investments (HB 1035/SB 937, PUA § 2-214): Prior to recovering the costs of gas infrastructure investments, investor-owned utilities must show that customers benefit from those investments and that they have assessed more cost effective options that may defer, reduce or eliminate the need for the investment.
-
Corporate cost recovery limitations (HB 1035/SB 937, PUA § 4-504): This provision prohibits investor-owned utilities from recovering costs associated with industry trade associations’ memberships or the use of private planes, protecting customers from paying to fund activities that may be contrary to their interests.
-
Energy storage competitive procurement (HB 1035/SB 937, PUA §§ 7-1224 & 7-1225): The Public Service Commission must develop a competitive process for constructing and deploying front-of-the-meter transmission energy storage devices. Projects must be cost effective. Storage may provide near-term solutions to peak demand needs and help avoid costly transmission-system upgrades.
-
Utility votes at PJM (HB 121/SB 37, PUA § 7-108): This bill will help inform whether utilities are advancing state and customer interests in their voting at the regional transmission and market operator, PJM Interconnection, LLC. It requires each electric company to submit an annual report to the Commission of all recorded votes cast by the electric company.
In addition to near-term customer relief, the General Assembly also considered and passed energy legislation that may have middle and long-term impacts on customers. Many of these measures now move to the Public Service Commission, where all the new legislation is implemented, with potential big impacts on residential customers, and OPC will be hard at work advocating on behalf of residential customers.
For a more complete view of OPC’s advocacy before the General Assembly this year, please visit the legislation page on our website.
|
