Petition · To the Maryland Public Service Commission and Maryland's utilities
Maryland built a community solar program that reserves part of every project for low- and moderate-income households and lets renters subscribe. We ask the Maryland Public Service Commission and Maryland's electric and gas utilities to remove the friction that keeps the households who need it most from signing up: one bill, one page of plain terms, one simple way to prove income, and a renter's right to subscribe with no landlord's signature.
Your name and ZIP go on the petition. Delivered to the Commission and the utilities with every comment.
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One bill
The subscription charge and the credit appear on one utility bill, for every subscriber organization. A household sees one number and never gets a second bill from a company it has not heard of.
One page
The discount, how it is calculated, how to cancel and whether cancelling costs anything, on one page in plain English and Spanish, in the same format for every organization.
One proof
Enrollment in OHEP, SNAP, Medicaid or WIC counts as proof of income. No pay stubs, no tax returns, no second application to get the larger discount the program already sets aside for these households.
Renters
If the electric bill is in your name, you can subscribe. Write it into the rules so no landlord approval, lease clause or building policy can stand in the way.
Maryland got the design right. Community solar lowers an electric bill with nothing to install, renters can subscribe, BGE, Pepco, Delmarva Power and Potomac Edison households can enroll today, and the program requires that part of each project serve low- and moderate-income households with a larger discount.
Then the household meets the paperwork. A second bill from a company it does not recognize. An agreement written for lawyers. An income form that asks for documents a working family does not have on hand. A question about the landlord that should never come up. Each of those is a point where someone gives up, and the people who give up are the ones the larger discount was written for.
We hear it on our phone line. A household on OHEP has already proven its income to the State of Maryland. Asking it to prove it again, to a different company, on a different form, to receive a discount the law already reserves for it, is friction with no purpose.
None of these four changes alters the program's economics or who pays for it. They change how many of the intended households actually get there.
What the program already promises
Maryland's community solar program requires that part of each project serve low- and moderate-income households with a larger discount. Renters can subscribe.
The promise is in the rules. This petition is about the distance between the rules and a kitchen table.
Today
The ask
Want to know how community solar works first? Read our plain-language guide, which starts with the Commission's own list of registered organizations. Utility Advisor receives no compensation for any referral.
A Maryland 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We run the Critical Medical Needs Program under contract with the Maryland Department of Human Services, have processed more than 1,000 CMNP applications and have helped secure more than $20 million in assistance for Maryland households. In 2026 the Department honored us with the Vulnerable Population Expert Award. We help households find every program that lowers their bill, and we see which ones they can actually reach.
1,000+
CMNP applications
$20M+
In assistance secured
Takes under a minute. Your comment goes on the record with the Commission.
Sign the petitionMore ways to lower your bill
60 seconds
Answer five questions and see every program your household likely qualifies for, on one page.
Find my programsCost to you: $0
A utility-approved contractor installs energy-saving items in your home at no charge. Homeowners and renters.
How it worksRebates cover most of it
A professional tune-up of your heating and cooling, paid mostly or entirely by EmPOWER Maryland rebates.
How it worksBehind on the bill?
State energy assistance, past-due balance grants, and the rules that stop a disconnection.
Start hereNothing to install
Subscribe to a share of a local solar farm and a credit appears on your electric bill. Cancel anytime.
How it worksTake action
Ask Maryland's utility regulators for stronger shut-off protections and fairer access to savings.
See the petitionsThis guide is free because people give. Utility Advisor Inc is a Maryland 501(c)(3). Your gift keeps the phone line answered and the power on for a household in crisis.
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