News > Monopoly utilities’ energy plans fall short for Marylanders

Monopoly utilities’ energy plans fall short for Marylanders

• Distributed Power Plant

October 15, 2025

• Ben Delman

Energy costs are skyrocketing. But there’s hope. Last year, Maryland lawmakers passed legislation requiring utilities to create pilot projects that would credit customers who help the utilities meet electricity demand by sharing electricity from their solar, battery, or energy management devices. This system is called a distributed power plant (DPP). 

Unfortunately, the pilot projects the utilities proposed fall short of an effective program. It’s a missed opportunity to enable Marylanders to benefit from a more reliable and less expensive energy system. It would also keep power and money in the hands of the utilities. Marylanders would continue to use electricity from more expensive, more polluting power sources instead of shifting to cleaner customer-owned resources. To understand why, we’ll explain how distributed power plants work, how they can benefit Marylanders, and why the utilities need to think bigger. 

How distributed power plants work

DPPs connect distributed energy resources. This includes solar-powered batteries, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats. Connecting them together allows electric grid operators to call upon their generated or stored electricity at times of high demand. Participants in DPP programs are compensated for taking part. These payments encourage more people to invest in solar, batteries, and other energy management tools. 

Why Maryland needs distributed power plants

DPPs lower energy costs for everyone. They do so by reducing the need to use or even build expensive peaker plants. This is critically important as the demand for energy in Maryland skyrockets thanks to A.I. and data centers. To date, Maryland and neighboring states have sought to build more gas-fired power plants and large-scale transmission lines. This approach would enrich Maryland’s utilities. It would also significantly increase utility bills and could take years to build. Conversely, the resources that make up DPPs are already connected to the grid. So, a DPP program can start operating in months, and not years. 

DPP programs have already proven their worth. In July, Puerto Rico’s DPP providers successfully dispatched nearly 70,000 batteries. This contributed approximately 48 MW of capacity to the grid in response to a generation shortfall of nearly 50 MW. According to the local utility, DPPs kept the lights on in many communities across the island.

DPPs are just getting started. A report from the Department of Energy estimates that tripling the current scale of DPPs by 2030 could save ratepayers more than $10 billion in annual grid costs.  

Why utility proposals fall short

Utilities BGE, Pepco, Delmarva Power, and Potomac Edison submitted their pilot program proposals to the Maryland Public Service Commission in July. The Public Service Commission is the government body that regulates utilities in the state. They have the power to approve or reject the utilities’ proposals. 

As designed, the proposed programs are not large enough enough to attract significant customer participation before the utility has to report back to the Commission. The pilots will not be able to  show they can be effective resources. This will make it less likely they are made permanent, ensuring that all Marylanders can benefit from DPPs. Without DPPs, Marylanders will be stuck paying more to the utilities for a less reliable energy system.

We’re waiting to see if the Commission will order the utilities to resubmit new proposals that take into consideration the recommendations that SUN and other stakeholders made, as well as those of the Commission itself. 

The utilities’ proposals put the Commission in a tough position. Commissioners need to balance the need to improve these proposals with concerns that asking the utilities to fix them will cause further delays. The timeline for when these pilot programs will start is not certain, but could be by the fall of 2026.