Three of Maryland's major utility providers are saying they're gearing up to hand over $160 million in tax savings to customers, while also ensuring residents aren't footing the bill for electricity used by data centers.
The Pepco, Delmarva Power and Baltimore Gas and Electric utilities announced Monday that the firms were seeking regulatory approval to distribute savings to customers.
Anticipated tax savings would amount to:
"This move is pending collaboration with the State of Maryland and will be reviewed by the Public Service Commission," the utilities said in a joint statement.
"The companies will work through the appropriate regulatory process with Maryland leaders and the PSC to determine the timing, structure and customer allocation of the refund benefits."
The looming tax refund stems from Potomac Edison bringing a case before the Supreme Court of Maryland, arguing that utilities should receive a tax exemption on purchases of transmission and distribution equipment.
A ruling in the utility's favor was handed down in July, with the Office of the Comptroller ordered to refund more than $250 million in tax overpayments to the providers.
"When utilities pay taxes, they recover those taxes in the rates that they set. Therefore, this money that is a refund of taxes paid and interest paid on those taxes belongs to ratepayers," Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman said during a Board of Revenue Estimates meeting.
"That $250 million plus should be in addition to the $32.2 million in overpayments that the energy companies collected in 2025 that they still have not paid back to ratepayers."
BGE has said its effort to release the funds reflects its "dedication to providing meaningful customer relief."
However, the latest also comes as BGE saw pushback from customers over the summer after the company proposed raising its monthly rates by $8, a spike that would amount to about $156 million. PSC said in a release that the BGE rate increase was being requested to account for infrastructure investments.
As BGE, Delmarva Power, and Pepco work on the tax refunds, the utilities also announced efforts on Tuesday to implement measures to protect customers from large energy users, such as data centers.
BGE said in a release that a large load tariff filing was submitted to the PSC, requiring that "large new customers, including data centers, would pay their fair share toward the grid all customers rely on."
"This filing is intended to ensure that growth happens responsibly, with clear accountability for the costs it creates in a fast-changing energy landscape," the release states.
In Maryland, more than 1 million customers are served by BGE, Pepco and Delmarva Power.
A PSC hearing on the filing is scheduled for Oct. 23, with additional hearings scheduled between Dec. 8 and Dec. 11.
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