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Maryland Electric Choice

Maryland consumers and businesses can choose their electricity provider!

State Capitol

History

Electric supply to Maryland homes and businesses has gradually been opening up to competition since the passage in 1999 of a deregulation Bill by the Maryland Assembly.

Prior to that, your local utilities, Baltimore Gas & Electric, Delmarva Power & Light, PEPCO and Potomac Edison were in charge of everything from paying power plants for your electricity to delivering it to your house. Under deregulation, consumers can choose to stay with that set-up, called Standard Offer Service, or can choose to purchase power from an electric retail supplier. The utilities remain responsible for the delivery of the power and the maintenance of power lines, but you choose who buys the electricity that you use. For a user-friendly How to Shop for Electricity guide, see our free E-Book.

Why Switch?

Everybody uses electricity differently - retail options allow you to find deals tailored to your needs or interests, and to take advantage of competition among retailers to get the best rates or go green. Similar to cell phone plans, where you can choose which provider and which package offers the best bang for your buck, retail choice gives you more power over your power - for more on this, check out our blog post Why Power is Like Potato Chips.

Switching

Since 2010, the number of accounts that have switched to a competitive provider has grown rapidly. Currently, approximately 25% of eligible residential accounts have switched to a competitive supplier.
The switching process is very simple and can be completed entirely online. Once you have selected your electric retail provider and offer with ClearlyEnergy’s search engine, pull up your electric bill and find your Electric ID (in BGE’s territory) or account number (in PEPCO, DP&L and PE territories) and complete the online switching form. The process takes about two minutes and doesn't require a credit card. Rest assured that there will be no interruption of service and no fees for switching. You will continue to receive one bill from your utility.

Choice

Baltimore Inner Harbor 2

While growth of the residential retail market has been robust in recent years,  ClearlyEnergy is the first resource designed to help Marylanders select retail electricity providers using an interactive search platform and a comprehensive selection of retail offers. Government agencies, which provide reference lists of licensed retail energy providers, are listed on the side of this page.

There are currently close to two-dozen retail providers with offers for households and individuals in Maryland, though BGE and PEPCO residential customers have more choices than those of Delmarva Power and Potomac Edison. The contracts offered range from monthly variable rates to a two-year contract period, but the most common term is one-year.

Green

About a dozen providers are offering electricity with 50% or more green power. Most of the “green” offers have 100% renewable content, and further seek to distinguish themselves by providing information on the type of renewable resource provided, our E-Book has a whole section on the ins and outs of green power, you should check it out!

By Veronique Bugnion, co-Founder ClearlyEnergy. You can find me on Google+

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Md

MD Public Service Commission

Website: webapp.psc.state.md.us

MD Office of People's Council

Website: www.opc.state.md.us/

BGE

Website: www.bge.com

Outage map: outagemap.bge.com

Residential Customer Service: 1 800.685.0123


PEPCO

Website: www.pepco.com/home/

Outage map: www.pepco.com/home/emergency/maps/stormcenter/

Residential Customer Service: 1 202.833.7500

DP&L

Website: Website: www.delmarva.com/home/

Outage map: www.delmarva.com/home/emergency/maps/stormcenter/

Residential Customer Service: 1 800.375.7117

Potomac Edison

Website: Website: www.firstenergycorp.com/potomac_edison.html

Outage Map: outages.firstenergycorp.com/mdwv.html/

Residential Customer Service: 1 800.686.0011