Choosing Your Residential Electricity Supplier

​Maryland residents can choose who supplies their electricity. Your local utility provides distribution service that delivers the electricity to your home, but you can choose another company to supply the electricity, if other companies are making offers in your area. If you choose an electricity supplier, you will still have to pay the local utility for its distribution service, but you will pay the supplier for electricity you use rather than the utility. It is common for these two charges to appear on the same bill from your local utility. It is possible, depending on the electricity supplier, for customers to have two bills, one for the utility distribution charges, and the other for the supplier's charges.

 
To evaluate the price being offered by an electricity supplier, you will want to compare the supplier's rate to the rate charged by your electric utility and any other competitive suppliers that are offering electricity to your area. The Maryland Public Service Commission maintains a list of licensed electricity suppliers and allows you to compare the supply price of the utility and electric suppliers at: https://www.mdelectricchoice.com/.

Electric utilities in Maryland post their rates for residential customers on their websites. (See the list of electric utility websites in the column at left.) To find out about the rates offered by electricity suppliers in your area you will need to contact those suppliers directly.

For more information on electric company choice, please visit:

• Maryland Public Service Commission
  www.psc.state.md.us

• Maryland Office of the People's Counsel
  410-767-8150 or toll-free 1-800-207-4055 • Fax 410-333-3616
  http://opc.maryland.gov (For information on residential public utility matters, including electricity suppliers)
  
  

To file a complaint against a retail supplier or utility company, contact the Maryland Public Service Commission's Consumer Affairs Division:

• Online: https://mdpsc.force.com/complaints/
• Phone: 410-767-8000 or 1-800-492-0474
• Fax: 410-333-6844

Advice for Evaluating Offers from Electricity Suppliers

Take your time to check out offers. You may receive offers from electricity suppliers through direct mail, telemarketing, advertising, door-to-door salespersons, marketing tables in public locations, and online. Do not give an electricity supplier any utility account information, such as your choice ID number, until you are certain you want to enroll with the supplier. Read offers carefully and ask the supplier questions. You may have to commit to a fixed-term contract when you sign up with an electricity supplier. Therefore, be sure you like the terms of the offer. Questions to ask a supplier:

• Is the energy price fixed or can it fluctuate month to month? Does it vary by amount used or time of use?
• What is the length of the contract? Is there an early termination fee or other fee if you switch to another supplier before the contract period is over? How much notice is required to switch suppliers?
• Will the contract automatically renew at the end of the term? How much notice must you give if you don't wish to renew?
• How is the electricity generated - coal, gas, nuclear, hydro, etc.? What percentage of the fuel source is renewable, and what are the emissions levels?
• Is there a deposit or sign-on fee? A fee for late payments? Any other fees?
• Will you be billed by the supplier or by the electric utility? Will you receive two separate bills or one combined bill?

Areas Not Participating in Electric Competition

Municipal Systems are not participating in electric competition. These community-owned, non-profit systems purchase energy wholesale and pass the savings on to their customers at cost. The municipal systems in Maryland are:

• Berlin Municipal Electric Company
• The Easton Utilities Commission
• Hagerstown Municipal Electric Light Plant
• Thurmont Municipal Light Company
• Williamsport Municipal Electric Light System

 
Rural Cooperative Systems: Like municipal systems, these systems already purchase energy wholesale and pass the savings on to their customers at cost. The rural cooperative systems in Maryland that have not implemented choice are:

• A&N Electric Cooperative
• Somerset Rural Electric Cooperative