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OPC And Maryland Energy Administration Request Order Establishing Deadline For Completing Evaluation Of Energy Storage Pilot Program
From Letter Request:
[ *** ] The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel (“OPC”) and Maryland Energy Administration (“MEA”) request that the Public Service Commission issue an order establishing a deadline of October 1, 2025, for completing its evaluation of the Energy Storage Pilot Program under PUA § 7-216(k). Although the statute gives the Commission until July 1, 2026, to complete this evaluation, delaying the review until then would diminish the program’s practical value. Early findings are urgently needed to inform imminent Commission procurement decisions required to meet goals under the Next Generation Energy Act and the Maryland Energy Storage Program (“MESP”), both of which set in motion significant near-term buildouts of grid-connected energy storage. [ *** ]
With MESP and the Next Generation Energy Act’s aggressive timelines, the pilot will be of limited relevance if the Commission waits until 2026 to develop its report. Findings from the pilot projects, however, would be valuable in informing the Commission’s implementation of these statutes.
If the Commission waits until next spring to evaluate the pilot projects, whatever learnings may come from the evaluation will likely come too late to be useful for the implementation of the MESP and the Next Generation Energy Act. By contrast, an accelerated report under the pilot program would allow the Commission to learn from previous energy storage procurements and to learn from the pilot’s pitfalls, which might have caused projects to exceed their budgets, under-perform, or deliver different operational outcomes than expected. [ *** ]
OPC and MEA appreciate the Commission’s attention to this request. An evaluation of the pilot projects on or before October 1, 2025, would ensure that the statutory objectives of the pilot program are fulfilled and that its findings can meaningfully inform ongoing regulatory proceedings and storage procurements. Doing so will help the Commission and stakeholders avoid past pitfalls, mitigate risks to ratepayers, and promote more effective energy storage investments across the state.
Request for Order (ML# 320231) (07/07/2025)
9619 (08/23/2019)
(In The Matter Of The Maryland Energy Storage Pilot Program)
