Electric Companies and Gas Companies - Customer Bill Surcharge - Repeal

HB 1535 repeals a surcharge currently added to electric and gas bills in Maryland that funded energy efficiency programs and supported greenhouse gas reduction goals. The bill removes the requirement for utility companies to recover costs for past energy efficiency programs (including those from 2008) through this surcharge and eliminates the need for companies to disclose how the surcharge covers these historical costs. It also amends related provisions that allowed the surcharge to be used for rate relief for residential customers. As a result, the surcharge will no longer appear on customer utility bills.