A provision in Maryland legislation HB 1532 would increase costs for electricity customers by $592 million. The bill would cut energy efficiency funding that reduces electric bills through procurement of cost-effective energy savings. By cutting energy savings, the bill necessitates the purchase of more expensive electricity and more spending on grid infrastructure, costs that are passed on to all ratepayers. Those additional supply costs dwarf the limited savings from reduced energy efficiency spending. The legislation lowers energy savings targets from 2.5% to 1.5% from 2027 to 2029, even though the long-term value of efficiency savings exceeds the short-term reduction in program spending.
