MARYLAND (WBFF) — The Maryland Freedom Caucus announced their energy platform this week, and a series of bills they argue will help lower energy bills for Marylanders.
“This starts to say, let’s really reflect on things we’ve done in the past,” said Delegate Brian Chisholm. “Let’s start to unwind this stuff, and let’s give a rate payers a little bit of relief, because they’re getting crushed right now.”
The first part of the plan includes rolling back the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. A bill aimed to do that, the Climate Solutions Affordability Act of 2026, which is sponsored by Delegate Chisholm, was heard in the Environment and Transportation Committee on Wednesday.
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“HB 79 is not a repeal of any climate goals. It makes them economically, realistically achievable and responsible, it modifies some of the rigid mandates by allowing implementation only if economically practicable,” Chisholm said.
“This is the same policy we had on the floor last year that you voted against, and in fact, got up and debated against,” said Delegate Marc Korman, Chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee.
“How can I feel comfortable you’re going to vote for your own bill?” he added.
“I will guarantee you I will vote for my own bill,” Chisholm responded.
During the hearing other lawmakers questioned key aspects of the bill, like how “economically practicable” was defined.
The Freedom Caucus also wants to exit the Regional Greenhouse Gas initiative and repeal SB 1, a bill passed in 2024 that attempted to put more consumer protections in place for energy customers.
“It was to get rid of bad actors,” Chisholm said. “And I’m not denying that there might have been some bad actors out there, but we officially eliminated all retail choice.”
Another big part of the Freedom Caucus platform includes ending the Empower Maryland fee, a fee that goes toward energy efficiency programs.
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“People are now seeing $35, $45, $50 per month, all the way up to $100 to $150, that’s a lot of money for people to pay,” Chisholm said.
“Attempts to get rid of the EmPOWER Maryland energy efficiency program are penny-wise and pound-foolish. Energy efficiency is the cheapest way to reduce demand on the grid, and the program delivers $2 in energy savings for every dollar invested. Eliminating EmPOWER would result in the need for more transmission and generation at a much higher cost to energy customers than this is incredibly effective program,” said Emily Scarr, a Senior Advisor for Maryland PIRG.
Democratic lawmakers have also proposed many bills attempting to lower energy bills, and Governor Wes Moore has also put forth legislation, which would include another roughly $40 energy rebate, more funding for certain clean energy projects, removing financial incentives for utility companies joining regional transmission organizations like PJM, and also improving infrastructure by requiring utilities to prioritize technology that increases the capacity, efficiency and resiliency of the grid.