News Stories

Parties file comments in response to the Maryland Public Service Commission’s April 10, 2026 Notice Requesting Comments on Preliminary RECA [Renewable Energy Certainty Act] White Paper.

As previously reported, the Power Advisory LLC (“Power Advisory”) prepared a RECA Generation Procurement Model Study: Discussion Paper (“White Paper”) describing generation procurement models and proposed evaluation criteria, and “requests that stakeholders submit additional comments […] regarding the different generation procurement models described in the White Paper, and the evaluation criteria to be used to assess the models’ relative performance.”

This feedback “will inform the assumptions that will be employed in multi-criteria decision analysis of procurement models.

Excerpts from Comments Filed:

PSC Staff Counsel – “The Technical Staff of the Public Service Commission (“Staff”) has reviewed the White Paper and proposed procurement models and offers the following recommendations for the Commission’s consideration.

• The Study should explicitly evaluate which models are best aligned with each specific generation technology and identify which technologies are most likely to be deployable at the lowest cost per unit of accredited capacity with a forward-looking lens.
• The resource adequacy criterion should be refined in the multi-criteria decision analysis framework to ensure that the framework reflects deliverability, operational performance, and Maryland system reliability needs.
• Interconnection feasibility should be incorporated as a distinct and core evaluation criterion within the multi-criteria decision analysis framework.
• The Study should prioritize understanding how return on equity affects capital expenses that are priced into per unit procurement prices (e.g., $/MWh or $/MW of accredited capacity).
• The Commission should consider the dollar cost averaging principle applied in the Standard Offer Service (“SOS”) procurement process as a method of reducing duration risk for a prospective RECA procurement process.

MEA – “The Maryland Energy Administration (“MEA”) welcomes the opportunity to provide comments in response to the Maryland Public Service Commission (“Commission”) Notice Requesting Comments on the Renewable Energy Certainty Act (“RECA”) Preliminary White Paper (“White Paper”) prepared by Power Advisory LLC (“Power Advisory”). The White Paper presents an important step for RECA implementation by reviewing nine different procurement models and highlighting aspects that could lead to differences in their effective cost to customers, underlying risk profiles, and ability to address Maryland’s resource adequacy requirements.”

1. The White Paper Mischaracterizes the Capacity Price Cap – When describing the PJM Base Residual Auction, the White Paper states that the federally approved price cap “dulls the price signal for developers, reinstituted supply for the development of additional generation.”1 While in ordinary circumstances this might be the case, the statement overlooks the reason the price collar was instituted – supply is not able to respond to the price signal. Without the cap, capacity prices would be unjustly and unreasonably elevated. Further, the price collar is temporary and should not impact recommendations for a near-term study on future procurements.

“II. The Maryland General Assembly Adjourned Without Authorizing Utility Owned Generation In the White Paper Power Advisory states it “understands that the Maryland legislature recently considered legislation that would allow investor-owned electric utilities in the state to build or acquire new renewable generation and recover costs via electric rates, subject to approval by the Commission.”9 Now that the 2026 Regular Session has concluded, the White Paper should clearly state that the Maryland General Assembly did not enact such legislation. MEA recommends the White Paper provide as a pro/con whether each procurement model can be implemented quickly under existing authorities.”

Constellation Energy Generation – “II. Business as Usual (BAU) already supports utility participation in competitive markets. BAU implicitly includes utility owned generation, because utilities have had and continue to have the opportunity to create competitive affiliates where the risk of building, owning and operating generation is borne by investors rather than captive customers.”

“In 2025, PPL Corporation and Blackstone Infrastructure formed a competitive PPL affiliate to build, own and operate natural gas facilities that will power data centers through energy service agreements (ESA). The PPL-Blackstone joint venture demonstrates how utilities can actively support new generation development and respond to rapidly growing load through a competitive affiliate. Rather than relying on guaranteed cost recovery, the joint venture manages risk through long-term ESAs, deploying new gas-fired generation where gas pipeline capacity and data center demand exist, without distorting PJM markets or shifting risk to ratepayers.”

“C. Existing Maryland law allows for regulated utility generation procurements if determined to be in the interests of Maryland consumers The Maryland Commission has explicit authority to “direct an electric company to procure new or existing generating resources to meet -long-term anticipated demand in the State for standard offer service and other electricity supply, subject to appropriate cost recovery.”2 This authority should be exercised with due care to prevent distorting PJM price signals or socializing risk that restructuring was designed to avoid. For example, the Commission should only consider using this authority after making a formal determination on the record that the regulated utility procurement is in the best interest of Marylanders compared to other generation procurement alternatives.

“III. Efforts are underway at PJM to accelerate the procurement of near-term generation and capacity resources designed to address recent increases in load growth projections. A. PJM has issued its Reliability Backstop Procurement (RBP) proposal designed to procure approximately 15 GW of new capacity resources by 2031.”

Joint Maryland Electric Utilities (JMEU) –  “submit these comments about the White Paper developed by Power Advisory LLC (“Power Advisory”) to aid the Commission in its study of generation procurement models as required by the Public Utilities–Generating Stations– Generation and Siting Act (“Renewable Energy Certainty Act” or “RECA”). 1 Specifically, the White Paper reviews different procurement models and highlights aspects that could lead to differences in their effective cost to customers, underlying risk profiles, and ability to address Maryland’s resource adequacy requirements. The White Paper also discusses criteria and other considerations to evaluate the generation procurement models. Given the limited time to review the White Paper, these comments of the JMEU are preliminary in nature and subject to change. The JMEU looks forward to the interviews the Commission has indicated Power Advisory will conduct to gain additional input.

“Power Advisory evaluated nine generation procurement models in its White Paper, but acknowledged they were not exhaustive, and invited stakeholders to propose alternative models or variations on the models evaluated. The models evaluated by Power Advisory are:

• Business as Usual (or “BAU”) generation procurement through the PJM Base Residual Auction (“BRA”) • Utility Owned Generation under cost-of-service regulation
• Utility Partnership with Independent Power Producer (“IPP”) with Build-Transfer (“B-T”) arrangement
• Utility enters Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) with generator
• Tolling Arrangement
• Competitive Dialogue – where procuring entity engages in a structured dialogue with pre-qualified developers
• Index Payment to generator for renewable energy credits (“RECs”) or Generation Capacity Credits (“GCCs”)
• PJM Reliability Backstop
• Electricity supplier purchase of GCCs

As noted in its January 23, 2026, comments, the JMEU urges the Commission to seriously consider utility-owned generation to complement, but not replace, competitive generation. Doing so would improve reliability, reduce supply costs, and protect customers from volatility and uncertainty about the availability of adequate generation supply. Maryland is facing an energy security crisis impacting the affordability, reliability, and sustainability of electricity for Maryland residents and business. While there are multiple factors behind the supply and supply cost situation Maryland finds itself in, it is obvious that the status quo has not worked. It is time to explore all viable options – including utility-owned generation. Provided in Attachment A hereto are initial reactions of the JMEU to the models evaluated by Power Advisory.

Office of People’s Counsel (OPC) – “OPC’s comments focus on material omissions and ambiguities in the White Paper, particularly where it does not fully address concerns OPC previously raised.”

“The White Paper does not adequately address several key issues relevant to evaluation of prospective procurement models. The White Paper appropriately recognizes a variety of differences between the assessed procurement models. OPC also understands that the White Paper is “preliminary,” and that certain topics will be further evaluated in subsequent “multicriteria decision analysis.” Nevertheless, because the White Paper will inform that next stage of analysis, it is important to highlight several issues that remain insufficiently addressed and that could materially affect any later comparison of the procurement models. In particular, the White Paper does not sufficiently address: (1) the risk of committing customers to long-term procurement in the current market environment; (2) legal and analytical issues relating to Generation Capacity Credits (“GCCs”) and SOS related procurement risk; and (3) certain important procurement-design considerations that bear on the comparative evaluation of the different models.”

Read all comments here.