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Agencies and developers push PSC to accelerate DG CPCN rules and standardize decommissioning
Summary
Power Plant Research Program, trade groups and developers urged the Public Service Commission to accelerate implementation of distributed-generation CPCN rules required by the Renewable Energy Certainty Act and to standardize decommissioning bonds and agreements to avoid administrative rework that can delay construction.
Representatives from PPRP, the Maryland Energy Administration and the solar industry told the commission that near-term administrative reforms to the distributed-generation CPCN process and clearer, standardized decommissioning requirements would reduce delays and regulatory rework that now threaten projects’ ability to qualify for federal tax credits.
Bob Ciesinski, director of the Power Plant Research Program (PPRP), said his office’s workload has exploded: PPRP now has roughly 45 community-solar and utility-scale solar matters in active review and an additional 150 pre-application items; transmission cases have also spiked. To address the caseload, PPRP has shortened its project assessment reports into compact tables, issued an online pre-application checklist, and spun up a cross-agency work group to develop the standard siting and design requirements the Renewable Energy Certainty Act (RECA) requires.
Developers and MEA supported accelerating the DG CPCN timeline and recommended the PSC and PPRP complete procedural elements earlier than statutory backstops so the new administrative CPCN process can swiftly clear projects. David Bugleman and other industry witnesses proposed using a stakeholder work group and a target filing date for recommended procedural regulations so the commission could consider them promptly.
Decommissioning was a recurrent theme. CCSA’s counsel and other developers explained that RECA requires projects over 1 MW to post a standard decommissioning agreement and surety bond to the commission beginning July 1, 2025. Industry witnesses said current CPCN decommissioning conditions are inconsistent across projects, sometimes forcing developers back to the commission for administrative hearings to approve cost estimates — a process that can block construction starts. CCSA proposed a publicly vetted dollar-per-megawatt bonding schedule and a standardized bond or form agreement to allow administrative approvals rather than case-by-case hearings.
PPRP said it has formed subgroups to draft both DG CPCN substantive requirements and a decommissioning template; PPRP aims to provide recommended standards by late November or early December. MEA said standardization would reduce litigation and accelerate project completion while preserving environmental safeguards.
Why it matters: Uncertainty about post-CPCN decommissioning requirements and lack of standardized procedural rules can create pre-construction gating events that delay a project’s ability to commence construction in time to qualify for federal incentives.
What’s next: PPRP will continue the multi-agency work group and deliver proposed standard siting and decommissioning templates to the commission; industry offered to participate in a stakeholder process and pledged to provide comments on draft rules on compressed timelines.
Quote: “We have about 45 solar projects in review — a 700% increase from 18 months ago — and we need standardized templates to review these efficiently,” Bob Ciesinski, director, Power Plant Research Program.
Ending: The commission encouraged rapid agency and stakeholder cooperation so PPRP can complete recommended templates and procedural proposals before the 2026–27 federal deadlines.
