THE DISPATCH — CIVIC EDUCATION
Neighbors on the Eastern Shore spend a bigger slice of their pay on energy. A storm showed how thin the margin can be.
In February 2026, a blizzard hit the Eastern Shore. At one point, 40 percent of Choptank Electric's customers had no power.[1] Delmarva said about 20,000 Maryland customers lost power, mostly in Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties.[1] Choptank said every storm outage was fixed by 4 a.m. on February 25.[2]
A storm is loud. A bill is quiet. This part is about the quiet one.
FIRST: WHAT IS ENERGY BURDEN?
Energy burden is the share of a family's income that goes to home energy. Think of a grocery budget. If groceries take one dollar out of every ten you earn, you feel it. If they take one out of every four, you cut something else. Experts call 6 percent of income, or 6 cents of each dollar, a fair limit for energy.[3]
Energy here means more than electricity. It also counts heating fuel, like oil and propane.[4]
WHAT HAPPENED
Three things matter most.
1. Shore homes with low incomes pay a bigger slice. The state's consumer office, OPC, studied this in 2022. It grouped Queen Anne's County with Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, and Kent counties. For homes at or below 175 percent of the poverty line, energy took 16 percent of income before help, compared with 14 percent statewide. After state help, it was still 10 percent, compared with 9.[4] Yearly energy bills averaged about $3,060, compared with about $2,630 statewide.[4] Research groups say costly fuel oil, propane, and drafty homes push Shore bills up.[5] What it means: every number is above the 6 percent line, even after help. An extra $10 a month lands hard on a home with about $18,900 a year to live on.[4] The data come from about 2016 to 2020. We found no newer numbers.
2. Averages hide neighbors. Queen Anne's County has the highest median household income on the Shore, at $112,621. About 6.1 percent of people live in poverty. Somerset County has a median of $53,022 and 20.3 percent in poverty.[6][7] OPC could not split the counties, so we cannot give a Queen Anne's number. Across the country, Black households spend 43 percent more of their income on energy than white households do.[8] We found no Maryland or Shore data by race. What it means: a county average can hide the households that struggle most. Without local numbers, no one can say how bad it is here.
3. Help exists, but it does not close the gap. Maryland's bill help (called MEAP and EUSP) now reaches households at or below 200 percent of the poverty line.[9] OPC says the General Assembly would need to raise funding to do more.[3] Delmarva's Customer Relief Fund offers up to $500 per Maryland household. Delmarva added $500,000 in January 2026.[10] Free home upgrades are open to Delmarva customers, and a family of four earning up to $106,800 may qualify. Choptank is not on that program's list.[11] What it means: if Delmarva serves you, there may be help you have not tried. Choptank members should ask their co-op what it offers.
What about the big power lines? We found no new big line planned for the Shore itself. Shore customers could still help pay for lines built elsewhere through PJM's cost sharing. OPC says $1.6 billion in new costs could reach Maryland bills over ten years.[12] We do not know how much of that would land on the Shore.
OUR ANALYSIS: THE SAME DOLLARS HIT HARDER
Add up two pieces from this series. About $4 a month for standby power, from Part 2.[13] About $8.71 a month from Delmarva's last wires plan, from Part 3.[14] That is about $12.71 a month, or about $152 a year. That is our sum. It uses different years and leaves out transmission.
$152 is about 0.8 percent of $18,900, the average income of low-income homes in OPC's Shore group.[4] It is about 0.14 percent of $112,621, the median income in Queen Anne's County.[6] The same dollars take about six times as big a share from the smaller budget. That is our math.
What it means: every flat increase widens the gap. Bill help would have to grow just to stand still. OPC says the General Assembly would need to raise funding to do more.[3] We did not check whether help has grown as fast as bills.
WHAT SUPPORTERS OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM SAY
Delmarva says it has given $6.5 million in direct help over the past year.[10] Choptank thanked linemen who traveled in to help finish storm repairs.[2] Maryland also widened its bill help in 2023.[9]
WHAT CRITICS SAY
OPC speaks for home customers, so this is an advocate's view. It says low-income Shore households still pay far above the 6 percent line after help.[3] It says more state funding is needed.[3]
Our reading: the Shore's squeeze comes from low incomes meeting costly fuel and older homes. The auction and the wires add to it. Part 5 shows who decides and how you can be heard.
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW YET
We do not know the energy burden for Queen Anne's County alone, or if it has changed since about 2020. We do not know which parts of the county each utility serves. We do not know if Delmarva's relief fund still has money this fall. We do not know the Shore's share of costs for lines built elsewhere.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Apply for bill help. Go to benefits.maryland.gov or call 1-800-332-6347. Queen Anne's County's local office is at QAC.OHEP@maryland.gov. The program year runs July 1 to June 30.[15][16]
- Ask about free home upgrades. If Delmarva serves you, call 1-855-583-8976 to ask about the EmPOWER program. Delmarva's Customer Relief Fund is at delmarva.com/ReliefMD.[11][10]
- Know who serves you. Check the name on your bill. If it says Choptank, you are a member. Ask the co-op what it offers, and vote in its board elections.[17] Questions about bills? Call OPC at 1-800-207-4055.[18]
Follow the Money, Part 4 of 5. Next in the series: Part 5, "Who Decides, and How You Can Be Heard." We name the groups that decide, from the state to FERC to your own vote, and show you how to be heard.
Sources
Primary sources are government or company documents. Secondary or advocacy sources are labeled.
- USA Today Network via Yahoo, Maryland's Eastern Shore hit by blizzard, Feb. 2026 (news report). yahoo.com
- WBOC, Choptank Electric reports all storm-related outages repaired, Feb. 2026 (news report). wboc.com
- Maryland OPC, release on its low-income energy burden report, 2022 (state consumer advocate; advocacy source). opc.maryland.gov
- Maryland OPC, Low-Income Market Characterization Report, 2022 update (advocacy source). opc.maryland.gov
- PSE Healthy Energy and IEER, release on Maryland energy burden, 2023 (research groups; secondary). psehealthyenergy.org
- Census Bureau SAIPE median household income, 2024, via Maryland Department of Planning (primary). planning.maryland.gov
- Census Bureau SAIPE poverty estimates, 2024, via Maryland Department of Planning (primary). planning.maryland.gov
- ACEEE, report on energy burden by income and race, Sept. 2020 (research group; national data). aceee.org
- Maryland General Assembly, fiscal note on HB 1516, 2026 (primary). mgaleg.maryland.gov
- WBOC, Delmarva expands Customer Relief Fund, Jan. 14, 2026 (news report). wboc.com
- Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, EmPOWER Limited Income Energy Efficiency Program (primary). dhcd.prod.maryland.gov
- Maryland OPC, release on its FERC complaint over PJM transmission cost rules, May 7, 2026 (advocacy source). content.govdelivery.com
- Maryland OPC, Bill and Rate Impacts of PJM's 2025/2026 Capacity Market Results, Aug. 2024 (advocacy source). opc.maryland.gov
- Maryland PSC, Order 90445, Delmarva multi-year rate plan, Case 9681 (primary). psc.state.md.us
- Maryland Department of Human Services, Office of Home Energy Programs (primary). dhs.maryland.gov
- Maryland DHS, local home energy program offices (primary). dhs.maryland.gov
- Choptank Electric Cooperative, ratemaking policy (company document). choptankelectric.coop
- Maryland OPC, FERC and PJM Issues page (advocacy source). opc.maryland.gov
