Bill could save Maryland households $150 per year on energy bills as costs rise

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other Democratic lawmakers announced a package of bills that could help Maryland households save more money on their energy bills every year.

Maryland energy bills are rising sharply and it wasn’t hard to find people who have felt the pinch in their wallets. News4 spoke to many people about high utility costs, with one person saying their bill has gone up $300.

Some struggle to understand why their bills are going up or feel like they can’t do anything to lower the cost. Gas prices rising due to the war in Iran make some people think it’s only going to get worse.

“I just know we are in perilous times,” one man said. “You can talk about the energy for the homes, the energy for your car, everything is just going through the roof.”

Lawmakers came up with the Utility RELIEF Act to help combact costs. It would save consumers an average $150 per year (about $12.50 per month) on utility bills.

It includes $37 million for a limited income discount program. It also limits how much ratepayer money can be used to pay supervisory staff and requires data centers to pay for their own energy infrastructure upgrades.

“It is not just a utility bill. Unfortunately for many Marylanders, it’s the demonstration of a completely broken system,” Moore said.

Some residents said they were glad to have some sort of relief. When News4 asked if it was enough, one man said yes but wish it would save more.

“Oh that would be awesome. I mean, the more the merrier,” a woman said. “If you can make anything extra, that is a good thing.”

Republican lawmakers criticized the plan, saying it didn’t go far enough.

The package of bills is expected to be debated in Annapolis this week. If they pass, the new laws would go into effect in June.

The package of bills would use $200 million from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund.

BGE and Pepco released a statement saying the utilities are reviewing the legislation to ensure the measures will not have unintended consequences for customers.