Committee reviews bill to create Maryland Strategic Energy Planning Office to assess wholesale market and grid risks

The Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee heard discussion of Senate Bill 909, the Energy Resource Adequacy and Planning Act, which would create a Strategic Energy Planning Office to study wholesale energy markets and bulk power system risks and recommend cost‑effective solutions. The bill establishes the office as an independent entity with staffing and funding provisions similar to the Public Service Commission and the Office of People's Counsel, and it sets a five‑year term for the office director, appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The bill requires the office to produce a comprehensive risk report every three years assessing wholesale market financial and resource adequacy and reliability risks associated with meeting the state's long‑term energy needs. The report would include 20‑year energy and demand forecasts for transmission zones and service territories, and must analyze multiple scenarios including at least one that achieves the state's clean energy goals, a least‑cost scenario and a business‑as‑usual scenario. The office must document inputs and assumptions and may recommend generation, transmission, distribution, demand‑side management, programmatic changes, statutory or regulatory changes, market tools, or state financing options to balance affordability, reliability and greenhouse‑gas reductions.

The bill directs the office to collaborate with the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Power Plant Research Program, the Maryland Clean Energy Center, the Department of the Environment and to coordinate with PJM for modeling and tools. The office would conduct stakeholder processes and public hearings while documenting stakeholder input; the bill does not require the office to adopt stakeholder suggestions but requires the office to record them in the report. The Maryland Energy Administration is named as a partner to complete the energy modeling for the risk report.

The measure includes uncodified reporting requirements. The PSC must study the effectiveness of an independent distribution operator and submit a report by Dec. 31, 2026; the Maryland Department of Transportation must study methods to reduce transmission‑constrained areas using existing transportation rights‑of‑way and submit a report by Dec. 31, 2026. The Strategic Energy Planning Office would deliver a status update to the governor and the General Assembly in 2027 and the first full risk report on or before Sept. 1, 2028, with updates every three years thereafter and the option to provide interim updates.

Committee members asked about staffing, timeline and costs. Ben Baker of the Maryland Public Service Commission told the committee that, in the long run, the office would likely need about 24 staff “maybe a little more because they are going to need to have administrative staff and modeling teams,” and that initial work will probably rely heavily on consultants. Baker said the PSC’s estimate for ongoing assessment funding is roughly $7 million to $8 million, though the first‑year costs and staffing ramp‑up could differ. He confirmed that the office would be funded through a special fund similarly assessed to ratepayers rather than the general fund.

Committee members and staff discussed whether to rely primarily on consultants or to staff modeling capacity in‑house. Presenters and senators said that the office’s first year will likely determine that trajectory, with a mix of in‑house staff and contracted modeling expected while the office is stood up. Questions also focused on the model scope (transmission‑level and wholesale markets rather than granular distribution modeling) and how the office’s scenarios would inform later policy or utility actions. The bill envisions a joint committee hearing after each report cycle to consider whether the identified risks warrant action by utilities or changes to state policy.

No committee vote on SB 909 was recorded during the hearing. Committee leadership proposed a recess for members to attend other bill hearings and planned to reconvene later tentatively to consider votes and additional bills.

The bill sponsor and committee leadership said the office is intended to build in‑state modeling and forecasting capacity that they currently lack. The committee’s next formal opportunities to act will be contingent on scheduling and the availability of a quorum; the office’s first major deliverable would be the 2028 report if the bill becomes law.