EmPOWER Maryland, the state’s energy efficiency program, requires utilities to achieve energy savings reductions equivalent to two percent of sales per year for the 2020-2030 program cycle based on 2016 gross retail sales and electricity losses.
The EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Act of 2008 (codified at Md. Code Ann., Public Utilities § 7-211) required Maryland’s electric utilities to achieve energy savings through a managed portfolio of energy efficiency programs administered by the utilities and overseen by the Maryland Public Service Commission through 2015. To ensure Maryland’s continued success in achieving energy savings, the commission issued Order 87082 in July 2015 establishing a ramp up of 0.2% energy savings per year until the utilities reach 2%. In 2017, Maryland’s legislature enacted SB 184. This bill codifies the two percent target of electric energy savings until 2024.