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Public Service Commission votes to publish Maryland energy storage regulations for notice
Summary
At a Public Service Commission rulemaking session on RM 85, commissioners voted unanimously to publish a new COMAR chapter (20.50.14) containing 12 draft regulations to implement the Maryland Energy Storage Program for notice and comment.
The Maryland Public Service Commission voted to publish a new chapter of regulations implementing the Maryland Energy Storage Program, moving the draft COMAR chapter 20.50.14 and regulations .01–.12 to the Maryland Register for public notice and comment.
The action was taken during the commission's RM 85 rulemaking session on the Maryland Energy Storage Program. The motion, made on the record at the end of the proceeding, proposed publication of the new chapter and the following regulations for notice and comment: COMAR 20.50.14.01, .02, .03, .04, .05, .06, .07, .08, .09, .10, .11 and .12. The motion included a proviso permitting nonsubstantive edits necessary to conform the text to COMAR drafting conventions.
Why it matters: the draft regulations implement statutory direction from the General Assembly (referenced on the record as statute 7 2 16.1) and are intended to create the administrative framework for the Maryland Energy Storage Program that the commission and work group expect to help meet the state’s storage deployment targets. Commissioners and stakeholders in the proceeding repeatedly tied the rulemaking to broader market and procurement work the commission announced would begin in late March, and to the target of launching program elements by July 1, 2025.
Key details - Motion and vote: A motion to publish the new chapter and twelve regulations for notice and comment was placed on the record and approved. The recorded vote on the motion was: Chair Hoover — aye; Commissioner Barvett — aye; Commissioner Richards — aye. The motion passed and the meeting was adjourned. - Text and process: The commission approved publication of the draft regulations for the formal notice-and-comment period in the Maryland Register, subject to nonsubstantive edits to conform to COMAR drafting rules. - Relation to procurement: Commissioners and staff said the rules are intended to proceed independently of, but alongside, a separate procurement proceeding the commission announced; both tracks were described as prerequisites for launching program components by mid-2025.
Background: The proceeding traces to 2023 legislation establishing the Maryland Energy Storage Program and to a work group convened by the commission after Order No. 90823 established Case No. 9715. Staff and the work group presented the draft regulations and said the text was intended to be program-agnostic — applicable to multiple ownership and operating models and to both front-of-meter and behind-the-meter storage applications.
Next steps: With the motion approved, the draft COMAR chapter and twelve draft regulations will be published in the Maryland Register for public notice and comment, and subject to any nonsubstantive drafting edits the commission or staff determine are necessary.
