On the final day of Maryland’s 2026 legislative session, lawmakers passed the Utility Relief Act, a sweeping energy bill designed to address rising electricity costs while laying a foundation for a more resilient and affordable energy economy.
The law touches many parts of the energy ecosystem, from holding utilities accountable for cost increases to ensuring that new large electricity users pay their fair share, preventing these costs from being spread to all ratepayers. Importantly, it also recognizes the role that locally-generated, distributed energy plays in driving energy affordability and provides a measured pathway for future, viable deployment. Finally, it provides much-needed clarity around Maryland’s net energy metering and community solar programs.
Why this legislation matters
Electricity bills across the country have been rising, driven largely by infrastructure spending, fuel price volatility and growing demand from energy-intensive facilities like data centers. The Utility Relief Act takes a comprehensive approach to these challenges. In plain terms, the legislature aimed to balance three priorities at once:
- Affordability: Preventing unnecessary cost-shifting onto households and small businesses
- Grid planning: Ensuring Maryland can meet growing electricity demand reliably
- Fairness and predictability: Providing clear, stable rules for energy investments
Distributed energy plays an important role in that equation by producing power locally, reducing strain on the grid and giving customers more control over their energy costs.
Net energy metering 101
A key component of the bill is reform to Maryland’s net energy metering (NEM) program. Net energy metering provides a way for homes and businesses to take control of energy costs. Instead of relying on the utility to provide electricity, homes and businesses can use onsite renewable power generation to net meter, or offsite renewable generation where virtual net metering is available and only pay the utility for the difference in what their system doesn’t generate. Think of the grid like a giant battery. You "deposit" excess solar energy during the day, and "withdraw" it at night when your panels aren't producing. Net energy metering is simply the accounting system that tracks those deposits and withdrawals, allowing customers to pay the utility only for the net difference.
Preserving trust through grandfathering
One of the most consequential outcomes of the Utility Relief Act from an energy infrastructure investor and operator point of view is how it addresses grandfathering. The bill clarified that operating and mature projects in development will continue to participate in the original version of Maryland’s net metering program. That clarification is critical for regulatory stability, as it provides confidence to homes and businesses that when they consider investing in energy infrastructure in Maryland their systems will be protected.
Energy projects are planned, financed and built based on rules in place at the time. Changing those rules after the fact would have signaled that Maryland is a risky place to deploy capital, at the very time the state is trying to attract new power generation.
A forward-looking successor framework
At the same time, the Utility Relief Act acknowledges that energy programs must evolve. The legislation expands Maryland’s distributed generation program from 3 gigawatts to 6 gigawatts, creating room for continued growth to meet rising electricity demand.
Future net-metered and community solar projects will transition into a successor program, with compensation rates set through a forthcoming proceeding at the Public Service Commission. The rates will be designed to provide fair compensation for energy exports and recognize the benefits these projects bring to the grid.
A model for pragmatic energy policy
By preserving operating asset value in the name of affordability, while simultaneously charting a thoughtful path for future deployment, Maryland’s approach strengthened both investor confidence and long-term customer protections.
As the state moves into implementation, Altus Power and other stakeholders will remain engaged in helping to shape the next phase. But the legislature’s message is already clear: stable rules, fair costs and forward-looking planning are essential to an affordable and reliable energy future.
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