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Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers approve energy reform bills aimed at cutting rates, boosting in-state generation
Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Chair Sen. Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery) on the floor of the Senate Monday, the last day of the 2025 General Assembly session. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) The General Assembly's energy package didn't quite come down to the wire, but it was close. With about 10 hours remaining in the 90-day legislative session, lawmakers gave final passage to a trio of energy reform bills focused on increasing the state's power generation and curbing electricity and gas rate increases with new regulations for utilities. The measures, backed by House and Senate leaders, come amid rising electricity costs for Marylanders. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said Monday he is 'very confident' that Gov. Wes Moore (D) will sign the bills. 'It's probably the biggest investment in the energy marketplace here in Maryland to protect ratepayers — to protect Marylanders — in probably a decade or so,' Ferguson said after the bills cleared their final hurdle. Republican senators renewed arguments that the legislation doesn't do enough to lower bills — or encourage new gas-powered generation. 'We were tasked with something this year,' said Sen. Stephen S. Hershey (R- Upper Shore). 'The General Assembly fell woefully short in trying to protect Maryland ratepayers.' One part of the package is the 'Legislative Energy Relief Refund,' which will send the average Maryland household about $80 worth of refunds next year, with one payment in the summer and another in the winter. The size of the refund will depend on a customer's energy use. House, Senate ratify budget compromise on final day Hershey called the two $40 rebates 'paltry,' and argued that they represent 'overpayments from the policies that we created.' The money is coming from 'alternative compliance payments' made by utilities in lieu of complying with the state's renewable energy laws, money that typically goes to energy efficiency projects like lighting upgrades or solar panel installation. The cornerstone bill of the package, the Next Generation Energy Act (HB1035/SB937), began with a focus on increasing energy generation in the state. It eventually became the vehicle for a number of provisions lifted from other energy bills, however, including canceling renewable energy subsidies for trash incineration, requiring utilities to justify spending on new natural gas pipelines and a state procurement process for new nuclear energy. The final version of the bill also incorporated House amendments to require that utilities demonstrate 'customer benefits' in order to earn a multiyear rate plan, which lets companies set rate increases for several years at once. The Senate had simply required that the plan be in the public interest. 'These groundbreaking changes to utility regulation are a massive victory for all Marylanders,' said Emily Scarr, senior adviser at Maryland PIRG. 'By reining in wasteful spending by BGE and other Maryland utilities, these new consumer protections will save Marylanders hundreds of millions of dollars.' Other bills in the package created uniform standards for solar energy projects (HB1036/SB931) which proved controversial with Republicans, and established a state office focused on energy planning (HB1037/SB909) Some environmental and ratepayer advocacy groups applauded passage of the package Monday. In a news release Monday, Brittany Baker, Maryland director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said the finalized Next Generation bill 'is significantly improved from the bill as introduced.' CCAN and other environmental groups had originally opposed the Next Generation bill, amid fears that its 'fast track' for new Maryland-generated power would grease the skids for natural gas burning power plants instead of renewable energy. Baker said the final bill 'gives new gas next to nothing while giving battery storage specific, time-bound financial support.' The bill sets a goal of 150 megawatts of battery storage, and requires utilities to submit plans for reaching their share of that goal. The package does include an expedited permitting process for up to 10 'dispatchable' energy projects, which must meet certain criteria for dispatching energy to the grid when called upon, and must have a lower greenhouse gas profile than coal or oil. The bill requires that zero-emissions projects get the fast track over others at a ratio of 4-to-1. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Hershey argued Monday that the bill should have taken further steps to incentivize gas plants. 'Did we go far enough to really incentivize somebody to come in and make that investment? And a number of us are hearing: No, we really didn't. We might have expedited the process, but we really didn't,' Hershey said. House amendments also sought to address concerns from environmental groups about loosened power plant permitting requirements. Environmental groups had expressed particular concerns about the bill shortening a preapplication period to 45 days, during which the new facility's operator notifies the surrounding community before it files an application with the Public Service Commission to build the power facility. Under the amended bill, if the power project is bound for an 'overburdened and underserved' community, the preapplication period will be 90 days. Susan Miller, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, said she believes the 90-day rule should apply no matter what. 'All Marylanders deserve the same procedural protections, particularly when the Commission will be considering projects which will pollute their neighborhoods for the next 30 years or more,' Miller said in a statement. GOP senators took issue with changes to the bill that they argue opens the door for data centers and other commercial facilities to secure one-on-one agreements for energy that are harmful to ratepayers. Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill allowed those contracts. But it stated that if they shift extra costs 'inappropriately' onto ratepayers, regulators can compel the commercial customer to pay it back. 'The largest provider of electricity in the state now is subject to being … able to go to one customer, one private-sector customer, and say: 'We're going to sell directly to you.' Isn't that a concern for ratepayers?' Hershey asked. Sen. Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George's) said the direct-power agreements are 'not monolithic,' and the new provisions would give more flexibility to the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. 'This is seeking to find more of a middle ground and some flexibility, but with the guardrails that are there,' Augustine said. 'But you're absolutely right: There have been concerns about taking off baseload power from our grid.'
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maryland energy reform bills focused on new power generation pass the Senate
Sen. Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George's) confers with Senate Education, Energy and Environment Committee Chair Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery). (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) The Senate Tuesday passed a package of energy reform bills that would set in motion a variety of electricity generation projects — from solar to nuclear to natural gas — start long-term energy-supply planning efforts and give ratepayers a slight rebate. The goal, legislators say, is to eventually tamp down skyrocketing electric costs with a host of policy prescriptions — and also give residential ratepayers, on average, an $80 refund on their electric bills in the next fiscal year. 'What we know is that every dollar matters,' said Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), 'and so we are doing what we have immediately available of ratepayer money and returning it to ratepayers in the most efficient way that we can, while focusing on the longer term, complex problem of increasing generation, and making it cleaner.' The bills backed by legislative leaders passed the chamber virtually untouched, but collectively garnered nearly three hours of debate. They now move to the House for consideration, with Monday's end to the legislative session looming. Ferguson said Tuesday that leaders in the two chambers are closely aligned on the bills. 'It's hard conversations, because these are really complex topics, and I think that we've really gotten to a good spot of general agreement,' Ferguson said. 'There are going to be changes here and there, things around multiyear rate plans. I think we're going to be OK.' General Assembly energy package a mixed bag for environmental groups Four Republican senators voted in favor of the broadest bill of the bunch, the Next Generation Energy Act, which included the ratepayer reimbursement, 'fast track' proceedings for new power generation facilities and an end to a controversial subsidy for trash incinerators that create energy. Sen. Justin D. Ready (R-Carroll and Frederick), the chamber's minority whip, said he'd be voting against the bill, in part because he felt it should have done more to repay ratepayers for what he called the state's flawed renewable energy policy. He argued the bill should have included further incentives for natural gas power plants, calling the fuel 'nature's gift.' But, speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday evening, Ready said there were redeeming parts of the bill. 'My vote is going to be red. I think there could be some members of my caucus that vote green, and that's a fine vote too,' Ready said. Attracting significant debate Tuesday was a bill to create uniform standards for solar projects in Maryland, including requirements that they be fenced off, set back from nearby buildings and surrounded by trees and shrubs. The bill came in response to concerns that Maryland's patchwork of varying local regulations on solar were pushing solar developers away, said Sen. Brian J. Feldman (D-Montgomery), chairman of the Senate's Education, Energy and the Environment Committee. 'We're retiring oil and coal plants, so we are in a bit of a pickle,' Feldman said. 'If we let every local commissioner group or city council have veto authority about any energy project anywhere in the state we're going to have even a bigger problem.' Currently, the Maryland Public Service Commission has final say on all solar projects that generate 2 megawatts or more of electricity. In other words, the state commission, which regulates utilities, can overrule local authorities to approve a solar project in a community. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE But Feldman said the bill would do something 'unprecedented' to limit the commission's broad authority: It would limit solar generating stations to 5% of 'priority preservation areas' in the state, which are lands capable of supporting agricultural or forestry operations. Republican senators expressed concerns about preserving the character of rural areas and ensuring fields aren't permanently lost to solar panels. In turn, they made several attempts to lower the 5% cap, but their efforts failed to win Democratic support. 'We're talking about utility-scale solar that is eating up much of agricultural fields and lands in especially the Eastern Shore of Maryland,' said Sen. Steve Hershey (R-Upper Shore), the minority leader. An attempt by Sen. Johnny Mautz (R-Middle Shore) to lower the cap to 2% failed, as did Hershey's proposal to start the cap at 2% before later raising it to 5% — so long as solar arrays were spread equally around the state. 'This is a very simple amendment. It's reasonable … It just says it has to be done equally around the state,' Mautz said. 'We just want to be treated fairly. That's all we want.' Republican senators also took issue with pieces of the broader energy bill proposed by leadership, the Next Generation Energy Act, although they generally agreed with the premise that the state needs more in-state energy supply to reduce consumer costs and the state's reliance on large transmission lines. When it came to light last year, a new power transmission line expected to cut through rural portions of Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties drew considerable community pushback. The proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project was necessitated in part by the retirement of Maryland coal-fired poewer plants Brandon Shores and H.A. Wagner, as well as an increase in energy demand, including from power-hungry data centers in Northern Virginia. In one amendment, Maryland Republicans proposed sending more direct relief to residential ratepayers than the expected $80 in fiscal 2026. The bill brought to the floor Tuesday would pull a one-time chunk from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund, which utilities pay into when they fail to comply with a state law that requires them to pay for a certain amount of renewable energy. Hershey's attempt to make consumer payments permanent failed. 'We're getting a lot of phone calls and emails. It's not because somebody's bill went up $40, but it went up multiple hundreds of dollars,' Hershey said. Lawmakers' touted electric bill refund would average $81 per household Hershey also tried to add language limiting multiyear rate plans for utilities, which let power companies propose several years of rate increases in a row. The bill that reached the Senate floor Tuesday would prevent multiyear rate plans unless they show a benefit to ratepayers. Hershey suggested eliminating the mutliyear plans altogether, arguing that the state should return to 'traditional' year-by-year ratemaking. But Democrats disagreed, arguing that multiyear ratemaking could allow utilities to save customers money by planning ahead for costs. 'If they are able to use it in the right way, we want this tool to be on the table,' said Sen. Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince George's). 'Now, what we are not going to allow is for them to then just use this as a piggy bank.' Republicans also saw an opening to try and amend the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires utilities to meet a minimum percentage of their electricity sales with renewable energy sources, for which they purchase credits from generators of approved renewable energy. The bill removes trash incinerators, also known as waste-to-energy facilities, from the list. They were added to the list in 2011. Hershey argued the Senate should lower the required renewable energy percentage by 15% — approximately the amount that incinerators contributed as of the most recent report. But Augustine disagreed, arguing that renewable energy projects coming online in the future would 'fill this gap.' 'The committee made a policy decision that the state of Maryland no longer felt that waste-to-energy was an appropriate part of the renewable energy portfolio,' Augustine said.
