Montgomery County holds public hearing on bill to create community choice energy program

Montgomery County held a public hearing on Sept. 9 on Expedited Bill 27-25, which would establish a county-run community choice aggregation (CCA) program to supply electricity to residents and small businesses while leaving delivery, billing and maintenance with the utility. Supporters said the program would let the county increase the share of renewable electricity offered to customers and use aggregated buying power to control costs.

The bill matters because it implements a state-authorized pilot for local aggregation and is identified in the county's 2021 Climate Action Plan as the "single most important action" to reduce communitywide greenhouse gas emissions. Proponents told the council the program could provide cleaner electricity at competitive prices and allow Montgomery County to tailor programs to local priorities.

Sarah Kogelsmucker, climate change officer for Montgomery County, testified on behalf of County Executive Marc Elrich and said the bill "establishes a county run CCE pursuant to" the Maryland law enabling a pilot. Kogelsmucker said the Montgomery…