The Utility Transparency and Accountability Act was one of the dozens of bills the Maryland House of
Delegates passed March 17, sending it to the Senate as part of the legislature’s “crossover day,” which
begins a three-week countdown to the close of the 2025 session on April 7. 

Otherwise known as HB 121, the bill would require the state’s electric utilities to file a yearly report on all their votes at PJM, or any other RTO, including votes taken at “any committee, user group, task force or other part of the regional transmission organization in which votes are taken.”

Votes are to be reported whether or not they are final votes or made by a person with decision-making authority, the bill says. HB 121 passed the House 128 to 8, while the Senate version, SB 37, passed with a unanimous vote, 45-0, on Feb. 27. 

With energy a top priority for the Assembly’s Democratic leadership, the bills that crossed over, and the amendments needed for passage, were significant. 

Distribution and Transmission Planning

Katie Mettle, policy principal for Maryland at Advanced Energy United, is promoting another non
crossover, SB 908 and HB 1225, which would require the state’s utilities to submit detailed distribution system plans to the PSC every three years. The bill calls for these plans to include demand-side management options such as virtual power plants, as well as non-wires solutions for improving reliability.

Mettle remains “cautiously optimistic” it could still move forward. “We love it because it has the potential to save rate payers a lot of money on their electricity delivery costs over time,” she said. “Just building out infrastructure in the most cost-effective way possible … will also lower demand on the grid and really make the grid a lot more reliable.” 

Other bills crossing over included: 

HB 155, which would allow the state’s Community Development Administration to provide loans for energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades for multifamily, low- and moderate-income buildings. The loans could be 0% interest, with deferred repayment plans lasting 15 to 40 years. The Senate version, SB 247, is still in committee. 

HB 49, which provides exclusions to the state’s building performance standards in special cases, such as not counting emissions related to the production of steam used for sterilizing medical instruments or from backup generation at a health care facility. The bill also gives building owners the option of paying a compliance fee if they cannot meet the state’s performance standards. 

HB 829, another Charkoudian bill, which would require transmission developers seeking approval for a new line to provide the PSC with evidence they had considered alternatives, such as grid-enhancing
technologies or distribution system upgrades that would defer the need for a new line. The bill does
not have a Senate version.