Maryland families are being crushed under the weight of rising utility bills. This is not a vague future threat — it is happening now. Gas and electric rates have soared past inflation rates, with Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.’s gas rates tripling since 2010 and Columbia Gas’ rates rising more than three times the inflation rate. And the worst is yet to come. By June 2025, BGE customers can expect an additional 12% increase on their bills — an extra $26 tacked onto a typical $210 residential bill. Marylanders are paying the price for a broken energy system, and it is time for the General Assembly to step up and fix it.

There is no excuse for this failure. The Maryland legislature has a clear path to providing relief by passing three critical bills: the Ratepayer Freedom Act, the Ratepayer Protection Act and the Abundant Affordable Clean Energy (AACE) Act. Each bill addresses the root causes of our out-of-control energy costs and puts ratepayers first. If lawmakers care about their constituents, they must seize this moment and act.

Maryland’s monopoly utilities are rigging the system against consumers. They are using the money collected from hardworking Marylanders to fund lobbying and political influence while pretending these expenses are necessary for reliable service. These utilities exploit loopholes that allow them to funnel ratepayer money into lobbying and trade associations that push anti-consumer policies, curry favor with regulators and distort the democratic process.

This must stop. The Ratepayer Freedom Act would finally prohibit utilities from charging customers for political spending, luxury expenses and self-serving advertisements. It would also require transparency reports to expose where every dollar is going. Ratepayers should not be forced to finance the political ambitions of corporations whose sole goal is to extract more money from them. This bill is about fairness. It is about ending utilities’ gaming of the system. The legislature must pass it.

For over a decade, Maryland’s STRIDE program has allowed gas utilities to inflate profits under the guise of safety. In reality, STRIDE is a financial loophole enabling utilities to charge customers upfront for massive infrastructure projects with little oversight. As Maryland transitions to clean energy, customers are left paying for obsolete gas pipelines.

The Ratepayer Protection Act would fix this by ensuring utilities spend ratepayer money responsibly — prioritizing safety, using modern leak detection and adopting a “fix it first” approach instead of indiscriminately expanding infrastructure. Without these reforms, Marylanders will continue facing soaring bills for no real benefit. The legislature must act now.

Maryland’s energy future is being held hostage by PJM Interconnection, a grid operator failing to adapt. Wind, solar and battery storage projects are stuck in bureaucratic limbo, while fossil fuel-driven price spikes increase families’ costs. PJM’s latest capacity auction resulted in an 800% market price increase, potentially causing a 29% rise in energy bills by mid-2025.

The AACE Act provides the solution by cutting through red tape and expanding clean energy storage. Prioritizing battery storage will reduce dependence on PJM’s flawed system and avoid unnecessary grid upgrades. The bill also reforms the state’s solar crediting process, eliminating wasteful subsidies while making clean energy more affordable. Passing the AACE Act is essential if the General Assembly is serious about lowering costs.

With the rise of artificial intelligence, data centers are consuming vast amounts of electricity, driving up costs. House Bill 900 would give additional help to ratepayers, ensuring they’re not unfairly burdened by requiring data centers to cover infrastructure costs built to serve their needs. This first-of-its-kind legislation would create separate rate schedules for data centers, preventing everyday consumers from subsidizing their energy demands.

For too long, Maryland lawmakers have allowed monopoly utilities to manipulate the system and drive up consumer costs. That must end. The General Assembly has a rare opportunity to fight back this session. Lawmakers can put Maryland families first by passing the Ratepayer Freedom Act, the Ratepayer Protection Act, the AACE Act and H.B. 900. This is not about politics — it’s about affordability. The legislature must act now to lower energy bills, hold utilities accountable and build a fair, sustainable energy future.

Susan Stevens Miller is a senior attorney at Earthjustice and a member of the Maryland Legislative Coalition’s Climate Justice Wing and the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.