• The bill directs agencies to run a Power Plant Research Program to identify up to 50 priority sites for new and expanded generation
• Pushes for a faster state-level zoning structure

Maryland lawmakers are debating a bill this week that would add new restrictions to hyperscale customers and limit utilities on how they can charge residential customers for the costs incurred by meeting data centers’ power demand.

House Bill 1532, the Utility RELIEF Act (Reducing Energy Load Inflation on Everyday Families) was announced by Democrats and Governor Wes Moore last week as part of a joint legislative energy package.

This bill seeks to lower the threshold for hyperscale customers from 100 MW to 25 MW and use USD 200m from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund to “secure local clean energy generation, modernize the state’s electric grid, and lower energy bills,” according to Moore’s office.

The bill defines a “large capacity energy resource” as a generating station or energy storage device greater than 25 MW after accounting for the effective load-carrying capability (ELCC) under PJM Interconnection. Former language defined large load customers as more than 100 MW. The bill also requires that large load customers with a signed interconnection agreement register with the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC).

The legislation asks utility companies to submit rate schedules for large load customers to the Public Service Commission by September 2026.

Additionally, the bill asks that the rate schedule be assigned to customers who use 100 MW or more at a single location in a month or have an aggregated contract capacity in the electric company’s service territory of more than 100 MW.

The bill’s current language states that the rate schedule won’t apply to existing load customers with a signed service agreement before the effective date, so long as that customer’s load does not expand by more than 25 MW at that facility included in the agreement.

The policy comes under consideration one month before the end of the legislative session on April 13. It has been approved by the House Environment and Transportation Committee and is now on the House floor.

According to the bill, the PSC and other state agencies will conduct the Power Plant Research Program, which will identify up to 50 sites in the state for new or expanded generating stations, including brownfield projects, industrial sites surrounded by low population density, sites with old or decommissioned generating units that may be repowered or repurposed, and identify current bottlenecks in the state for permitting.

NPM interconnection queue data is currently tracking at least 59 pre-operational renewable energy projects in Maryland’s queue, which includes the 300 MW Jade Meadow III solar-plus-storage facility under development by Rev Renewables, the 175 MW COV Backbone Solar project under development by Competitive Power Ventures, and Porter Miller Solar, a 45 MW project under development by Urban Grid.

Based on the current language in the 12-page document, it’s unclear how the Strategic Energy Investment Funds would be used to procure solar or storage assets. Sponsoring Delegates Marc Korman and David Fraser-Hidalgo did not return NPM’s request for comment on the matter.

Permitting

Part of the study will also develop recommendations on what a state-level zoning or permitting structure should look like in order to fast-track development at the identified priority sites. This language is also vague and puts the onus on state agencies, like the PSC, the Department of the Environment and the Maryland Energy Administration.

Emily Scarr, senior adviser with Maryland PIRG, said in a statement that the bill “dismantles” established energy efficiency programs in a package that “otherwise is a bill that has a lot of good ideas.”

The legislation is also requiring that the state procure or provide low-income households with programs to help them save on their electric bills, as well as assist the state in achieving its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The bill also includes plans for a solicitation that will be issued on or before June 1, 2028 by the PSC that will seek proposals from third-party administrators to create cost-effective programs for ratepayers.

Robin Dutta, executive director of the advocacy group Chesapeake Solar and Storage Association (CHESSA), said his organization agrees with the purpose behind the bill, but the devil is in the details.

“We agree with the intent of the Utility RELIEF Act, to lower energy costs for Marylanders. But the policy details matter,” Dutta said. “Marylanders will see those lower costs as more solar and storage gets built in the state. We are working with legislators to ensure that the final version of the bill gets those details right.”