Maryland's green energy mandates are driving a 50.9% spike in electric bills

By isabelle // 2026-09-10

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Maryland electricity bills have jumped 50.9% over five years, reaching 24% above the national average.
Governor Wes Moore blames utility profiteering and data center demand, while critics point to state decarbonization mandates.
Climate Solutions Now Act and RGGI carbon fees have pushed fossil fuel plants toward closure, forcing Maryland to import 43% of its power.
A new scorecard from the Maryland Affordability Project found five of seven recent energy bills raised costs for ratepayers.
Utilities warn Maryland could face voltage collapse and rolling blackouts as soon as summer 2027.

For Maryland residents watching their electricity bills climb 50.9% over five years — hitting 22.4 cents per kilowatt-hour, 24% above the national average — the question of blame has become a political battlefield. Governor Wes Moore points to utility "double dipping" and data center demand on the PJM grid, even signing a Utility Relief Act to provide $150 rebates and cap executive pay. But critics argue the real culprit sits in Annapolis: a web of state decarbonization mandates that have choked off reliable in-state power generation, forcing Maryland to import 43% of its electricity and setting the stage for possible blackouts by summer 2027.

Climate Solutions Now Act reshaped the power supply

Maryland's Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022 requires a 60% cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 2006 levels by 2031 and net-zero emissions by 2045. Separate legislation mandates all-electric heating in larger buildings, part of a broader state push to phase out natural gas and oil heating in favor of electric heat pumps. These policies have made fossil fuel plants uneconomic to operate, accelerating voluntary closures. Since 2018, Maryland has lost significant in-state generation capacity, now relying on imports from Pennsylvania and West Virginia — electricity equivalent to the state's entire residential consumption. "The imported electricity costs more and often pollutes more," writes Geoffrey Pohanka, chairman of Pohanka Automotive Group, in analysis originally published by RealClearEnergy, questioning how "moving these emissions across the state border" counts as progress.

RGGI's carbon tax squeezes fossil fuel plants

As a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Maryland imposes a carbon tax on fossil fuel plant emissions. In 2024, RGGI fees amounted to a 44% tax on in-state fossil fuel plant revenues — a cost that cannot be passed to customers because of Maryland's deregulated market. At current auction prices of $35 per ton of CO2, a single 1-gigawatt natural gas plant faces an annual tax of $100 million. The squeeze has kneecapped Baltimore's Wagner oil plant, now permitted to run only 5% of the time, and pushed the Brandon Shores coal plant toward closure — even as Moore's administration prioritizes offshore wind, solar and battery storage. Solar alone carries less than a 7% reliability rating from PJM, and solar paired with battery backup ranks among the most expensive ways to generate power. Three planned transmission lines, including the Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link and Piedmont Reliability Project, will cost billions while deepening Maryland's dependence on its neighbors.

Affordability scorecard blames Annapolis, not just PJM

The Maryland Affordability Project, led by Randy Altschuler, released a scorecard examining seven energy bills passed between 2023 and 2026, arguing five raised costs for ratepayers while two merely shifted or deferred them. The group flags more than $500 million pulled from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund in 2025 and 2026 — money meant for energy assistance and efficiency. "When we take that money and don't use it for the intended purposes, it's the worst of both worlds," Altschuler told FOX45 News. "We're paying more and we're getting nothing in return." Moore spokesperson Rhyan Lake countered by blaming the Trump administration for canceling projects, saying the state didn't "vote for him" — without addressing the $500 million in transfers.

Blackout warnings loom as reforms stall

Utilities have warned of a possible voltage collapse and rolling blackouts by summer 2027 — a timeline that leaves little room for half-measures. PJM has revamped its interconnection process, approving 811 new generation projects in its first cluster cycle, but state mandates continue to keep reliable power off the grid. Maryland's Next Generation Energy Act streamlines permitting to 295 days, but only for projects cleaner than coal or oil, shutting out the very plants residents currently depend on to keep the lights on. Pacific Legal Foundation senior fellow Josh Smith argues the RELIEF Act's rebates discourage suppliers from entering the market rather than fixing the underlying shortage — a pattern the Affordability Project's own scorecard backs up, finding five of seven recent energy bills raised costs for ratepayers. Even the group pushing hardest on affordability isn't calling for Maryland to scrap its mandates outright. With a 2027 blackout deadline bearing down, that reluctance to revisit the mandates themselves may be the bet Maryland can't afford to make. Sources for this article include: WattsUpWithThat.com FoxBaltimore.com Reason.com