Residents and advocates urged Maryland utility regulators on Wednesday to protect the state’s EmPOWER energy efficiency programs from proposed cuts, saying the programs help families lower their bills. The Public Service Commission heard public testimony on utilities’ EmPOWER plans for 2027-2029 on Oct. 28. EmPOWER is the state’s utility-run efficiency program, funded through customer bills.
What Residents and Advocates Told Commissioners
Casey Hunter of the Maryland Sierra Club said EmPOWER has saved Marylanders billions in energy costs since 2008, saved enough energy to power more than 1.5 million homes for a year, and cut emissions by an amount equal to taking more than 2 million cars off the road for a year. Hunter also said households switching from delivered fuels to heat pumps can save up to $1,600 a year. Those figures are the speaker’s own claims.
Joelle Novey, speaking for faith communities, said a Baltimore church received more than $6,000 in EmPOWER help for all-electric heat pumps. She urged commissioners: “don’t let the utilities disempower us today.”
Robert Brown, who took part in a Green & Healthy Homes Initiative weatherization program, said his winter bill fell from roughly $175 to below $100 after the upgrades. He said it rose again after rates went up, but not to its earlier level. Ruth Alice White of Columbia said she used an EmPOWER rebate for a 2023 home energy audit and later installed a heat pump. She said the utility quoted six weeks to six months for a panel-upgrade hookup.
What Commissioners Asked
A commissioner asked Brown about the upgrades he received, which included duct sealing and a water heater replacement, and how much his bill dropped.
Background
The 2026 Utility RELIEF Act cut EmPOWER’s annual greenhouse gas reduction goal from 2.5 percent to 1.75 percent for 2027-2029. In July, the commission asked utilities to file two plans, one with a 30 percent cut and one with a 45 percent cut, WYPR reported. The Daily Record covered the hearing and BGE’s proposed cuts.
What’s Next
The recording does not show a decision from the commission on the 2027-2029 plans.
