Electric Companies and Gas Companies - Customer Bill Surcharge - Repeal

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0521*

HOUSE BILL 521
C5 EMERGENCY BILL 6lr1912
HB 1535/25 – HRU
By: Delegates Chisholm, Anderson, Arentz, Arikan , Fisher, Grammer, Griffith,
Jacobs, Kipke, M. Morgan, T. Morgan, Nawrocki, Reilly, Schmidt, Szeliga,
and Tomlinson
Introduced and read first time: January 27, 2026
Assigned to: Environment and Transportation

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Electric Companies and Gas Companies – Customer Bill Surcharge – Repeal 2

FOR the purpose of repealing on electric and gas bills a certain surcharge used to encourage 3
and promote the efficient use and conservation of energy in support of certain 4
greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and targets; and generally relating to 5
surcharges imposed on electric company and gas company customers. 6

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 7
Article – Public Utilities 8
Section 7–222(d) 9
Annotated Code of Maryland 10
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 11

BY repealing 12
Article – Public Utilities 13
Section 7–222(e) 14
Annotated Code of Maryland 15
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 16

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 17
Article – State Government 18
Section 9–20B–05(a) 19
Annotated Code of Maryland 20
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 21

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 22
Article – State Government 23
Section 9–20B–05(f)(4) 24
Annotated Code of Maryland 25
2 HOUSE BILL 521

(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 1

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 2
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 3

Article – Public Utilities 4

7–222. 5

(d) The Commission shall encourage and promote the efficient use and 6
conservation of energy in support of the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and 7
targets required under Title 2, Subtitle 12 of the Environment Article, established by the 8
Commission under § 7–223(b) of this subtitle, and specified in § 7–224(a)(2) of this subtitle 9
by: 10

(1) requiring each electric company and gas company to establish any 11
program or service that the Commission determines to be appropriate and cost –effective; 12
AND 13

(2) [adopting rate–making policies that provide, through a surcharge line 14
item on customer bills: 15

(i) full cost recovery of reasonably incurred costs for programs and 16
services established under item (1) of this subsection, including full recovery on a current 17
basis on or before January 1, 2028; 18

(ii) on or before December 31, 2032, the elimina tion of any unpaid 19
costs and unamortized costs that: 20

1. A. existed on December 31, 2024; or 21

B. were incurred before January 1, 2028; and 22

2. were accrued for the purpose of achieving statutory 23
targets for annual incremental gross energy savings; 24

(iii) compensation for any unpaid costs and unamortized costs under 25
item (ii) of this item at not more than each electric company’s and each gas company’s 26
average cost of outstanding debt; and 27

(iv) reasonable financial performance incentives an d penalties for 28
investor–owned electric companies and gas companies, as appropriate; and 29

(3)] ensuring that adoption of electric customer choice under Subtitle 5 of 30
this title and gas customer choice under Subtitle 6 of this title does not adversely imp act 31
these goals and targets. 32

HOUSE BILL 521 3

[(e) The Commission shall, by regulation or order, require each electric company 1
and each gas company subject to subsection (a) of this section that has submitted to the 2
Commission, on or before July 1, 2024, a plan for achieving electricity or gas savings and 3
demand reduction targets to disclose the following information in a form and format readily 4
understandable to the average customer: 5

(1) that the surcharge imposed in accordance with subsection (d) of this 6
section includes the cost of paying down the unpaid costs and unamortized costs that were 7
accrued over time by programs and services required by the Commission dating back to 8
2008; and 9

(2) the period of time that the surcharge will include excess charges to pay 10
down the unpaid costs and unamortized costs.] 11

Article – State Government 12

9–20B–05. 13

(a) There is a Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Fund. 14

(f) The Administration shall use the Fund: 15

(4) to provide rate relief by offsetting electricity rates of residential 16
customers[, including an offset of surcharges imposed on ratepayers under Title 7, Subtitle 17
2, Part II of the Public Utilities Article]; 18

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act is an emergency 19
measure, is necessary for the immedi ate preservation of the public health or safety, has 20
been passed by a yea and nay vote supported by three –fifths of all the members elected to 21
each of the two Houses of the General Assembly, and shall take effect from the date it is 22
enacted. 23