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Expedited Bill 27-25 has been introduced a municipal aggregation bill that is sponsored by the Council President and co-sponsored by nine of the 11 members of the council. It is expected to pass and represents a potential opportunity in Maryland to serve mass market customers given the devastating impact of SB1 on the retail energy market.  An introduction staff report accompanied the bill.

In Maryland, Montgomery County is the only jurisdiction in the state empowered under state law to develop a community choice or municipal aggregation program where implementing legislation will be considered at a hearing of the county council on September 9, 2025. 

Expedited Bill 27-25 would: (1) establish a community choice aggregator; (2) set forth certain requirements of the community choice aggregator’s operations; and (3) generally amend the law regarding environmental sustainability in electricity supply.

“The bill would establish a community choice aggregator (“CCA”) within the Department of Environmental Protection and designates the Director of the Department of Environmental Protection as the responsible entity for its operations and functions. The bill would require the 2 CCA to have the capacity to serve as the electricity supplier for all residential and small commercial electric customers in the County and provide its customers a percentage of renewable content that exceeds the amount required by the State’s renewable energy portfolio standards. The Bill would also require the CCA to prioritize sustainability, cost-efficiency, stability, and predictability in the provision of electricity. The bill would exempt the purchase of electric supply from the County’s procurement laws and require the CCA to transmit to the County Council a copy of its Aggregation Plan or any Aggregation Plan Changes prior to filing them with the Public Service Commission.”

As background, in 2021, “[t]he General Assembly passed HB 768, which authorizes Montgomery County to establish a Community Choice Aggregation Pilot Program, codified at Maryland Code § 7-510.3 of the Public Utilities Article. The Maryland Public Service Commission engaged in a rulemaking process—at which time the County Council transmitted a letter to the Commission in support of the community choice aggregator—resulting in State regulations governing the creation and operation of a community choice aggregator. Among other requirements in state statute and regulation to establish a community choice aggregator, PU § 7-510.3(e)(3)(iii) requires Montgomery County to enact “a local law that provides that the county shall act as a community choice aggregator.”