Governor Wes Moore signed Executive Order 01.01.2025.27 on December 19, 2025, directing state agencies to adopt a coordinated strategy addressing electricity generation shortfalls and escalating utility costs affecting residents statewide.
The order, titled Building an Affordable and Reliable Energy Future, responds to a 44 percent rise in residential energy rates since 2020, emphasizing affordability for households and businesses. Moore stated, “Over the last few years, utility bills have spiked, and for many Marylanders, energy policy has stopped being technical and started being personal. This order addresses the untenable system causing these costs to skyrocket. We are putting affordability and reliability at the center of the conversation to ensure our system works for the people who use it, not just the companies that run it.”
The initiative organizes efforts around four pillars. First, it prioritizes ratepayer protection by instructing the Maryland Energy Administration to petition the Public Service Commission for a review of utility budget billing programs, aiming to enhance transparency and prevent abrupt cost surges. The order promotes non-wires alternatives, such as demand response or energy storage, over traditional capital-intensive infrastructure to resolve grid constraints more economically.
Second, grid modernization involves requiring transmission owners to evaluate advanced technologies, like high-performance conductors or dynamic line ratings, before approving new lines, potentially boosting existing infrastructure capacity by 20 to 40 percent. The Maryland Department of Transportation must identify state rights-of-way, including highway medians, suitable for high-voltage transmission and battery storage installations.
Third, the order launches the Maryland Energy Site-Readiness Initiative to accelerate project deployment. By late 2027, it will produce a Smart Siting Inventory cataloging pre-vetted sites, favoring brownfields, industrial zones, and disturbed lands to minimize environmental disruption. The Department of Commerce will prepare Development Offer Packages combining grants, tax incentives, and technical support to draw energy developers, enhancing the state’s competitiveness in attracting clean energy investments.
Fourth, leadership structures include an energy subcabinet chaired by the Maryland Energy Administration director to align resources and track progress. A new Maryland Energy Advisory Council, comprising utilities, labor representatives, consumer advocates, and other stakeholders, must submit a memorandum within 180 days identifying key barriers to affordability and reliability.
This action follows the Next Generation Energy Act, enacted earlier in 2025, which authorized $200 million in electricity bill rebates through the Strategic Energy Investment Fund. Rebates distributed in two phases: the first applied during summer 2025, averaging $40 per household, and the second scheduled for early 2026. The fund, established in 2008, supports energy efficiency, renewable projects, and low-income assistance, drawing from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction proceeds and other sources.
In 2025, the administration allocated over $130 million for clean energy programs, including $64 million for local government modernization grants, $53 million for the Decarbonizing Public Schools Program to install heat pumps and solar panels in public facilities, and $17 million for community solar access targeting income-qualified residents. These investments aim to increase supply, improve grid resilience, and provide direct relief.
Southern Maryland residents, served primarily by the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, face similar cost pressures. SMECO’s residential rates for December 2025 stood at $0.103591 per kilowatt-hour, reflecting seasonal fluctuations influenced by extreme weather, such as a prolonged cold spell in January 2025 that drove higher usage. The cooperative, covering Calvert, Charles, St. Mary’s, and southern Prince George’s counties, reported average monthly bills around $170, exacerbated by regional supply scarcity in the PJM Interconnection market.
The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Calvert County plays a central role in Maryland’s energy mix. As the state’s sole nuclear facility, its two reactors generate up to 1,790 megawatts, supplying about 40 percent of Maryland’s carbon-free electricity and supporting grid stability.. Owned by Constellation Energy, the plant employs over 800 workers and contributes to local economies through taxes and community programs, aligning with state goals for reliable baseload power.
Maryland’s broader energy framework targets a 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2031 and net-zero by 2045 under the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. The Renewable Portfolio Standard requires 50 percent renewable energy by 2030, with solar carve-outs driving installations in Southern Maryland’s agricultural areas. However, transmission bottlenecks and data center demand have fueled rate hikes, with PJM’s 2024 capacity auction projecting up to 24 percent bill increases starting mid-2025.
The EmPOWER Maryland program, detailed in its 2025 report, mandates utilities to achieve annual energy savings targets, contributing to efficiency gains but facing scrutiny amid rising costs. Legislative previews for 2026 indicate continued focus on utility regulation and transmission expansion to mitigate these issues.
In response to federal funding disruptions, Moore deployed $10 million in November 2025 to sustain Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program benefits, aiding vulnerable households in Southern Maryland where heating demands peak during winter. These measures complement the executive order’s emphasis on equitable energy access.
The advisory council’s forthcoming report, due by June 2026, will outline urgent challenges, potentially informing further policy adjustments. Stakeholders, including the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, praised the order for promoting innovative technologies and site-specific development.
Maryland’s energy sector has evolved since deregulation in 1999, shifting from vertically integrated utilities to competitive markets under PJM oversight. Recent volatility stems from natural gas price swings, retiring coal plants, and growing electrification demands. The order seeks to balance these factors while advancing clean energy transitions, ensuring reliability for industries like agriculture and defense in Southern Maryland.
