Who Really Sets Your Electric Bill? Let's Check the Facts.
GTC Dispatch • Plain Facts
Election season is here, and you’re going to hear a lot of talk about your electric bill. Some of it is true. Some of it is not. Here are the facts, in plain language.
Electric bills are up. That’s real, and it hurts. Families all over Queen Anne’s County feel it every month. So when politicians point fingers, it matters who is telling the truth. Let’s walk through it together.
Fact 1: Maryland does not set the price of making power
Here’s something most people don’t know. Maryland is part of a big regional power grid run by a group called PJM. PJM covers 13 states, both red and blue. The price of making electricity is set in PJM’s regional market — not by Annapolis, and not by one political party.
Bills are going up all across that 13-state region. A big reason? Huge new data centers — the giant computer warehouses that power the internet and AI — are using massive amounts of electricity. More demand means higher prices for everyone on the grid.
Fact 2: Nobody in Annapolis closed those power plants
You may hear that Maryland “shut down” its coal plants and caused a power shortage. That’s not what happened.
In 2020 — when Larry Hogan, a Republican, was governor — the private company that owns the big coal plants near Baltimore announced it would stop burning coal. Why? Because coal was losing money. The company said so itself. Cheaper natural gas and other power sources were beating it in the market.
And here’s the part they leave out: those plants are still running today. The grid operator asked them to stay open, and they will keep running until at least 2029 — maybe 2031.
Fact 3: The clean-air program they attack paid for your rebate
Did you see a credit on your electric bill called the “Legislative Energy Relief Refund”? One came last fall and one this past winter — about $80 total for the average household, with $200 million going back to Maryland families.
Some politicians attack the clean-air rules that make polluters pay for what they put in the air. But here’s the thing: that money is where your rebate came from. The fees polluters pay go into a state fund, and that fund paid Maryland families back.
Fact 4: A new law is bringing more relief
This spring, Maryland passed the Utility RELIEF Act. Here’s what it does in plain terms:
It’s expected to save the average household about $150 a year. It stops utility companies from charging you for their executives’ big pay packages. And it makes those giant data centers pay their own way when they hook up to the grid — instead of pushing those costs onto your bill.
So what should you watch for?
When someone tells you exactly who to blame for your electric bill, ask three simple questions: Who actually sets that price? When did that really happen? And what did they leave out? The truth is usually more complicated than a campaign speech — and you deserve the whole story.
Your power is your vote
The people you elect this November will shape Maryland’s energy future.
Get the Facts Before You VoteIn Good Trouble!
Chris Esters
Founder, Good Trouble Circle
