The Easiest Way to Shrink Your BGE Bill (No Panels, No Second Bill, No Kidding)

This is a paid post contributed by a Patch Community Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own, and the information presented has not been verified by Patch.

Let's be honest: opening the BGE bill is nobody's favorite part of the month. The good news is that Maryland has a program that can make that bill a little smaller, and it doesn't ask you to climb on your roof, call a contractor, or learn anything about kilowatts.

Subscribe

It's called community solar. Solar farms are being built on open land across BGE's service area, and Maryland lets regular households sign up for a share of what those farms produce. Your share turns into credits on your electric bill, and you pay less for those credits than they're worth. Renters and homeowners can both join, and so can people in apartments, condos, and townhouses.

Here's the best part: almost nothing changes. Nothing gets installed at your home. You stay with BGE, and you keep the same power lines, the same outage number, and the same bill. There's no second bill and no new company to pay, because your savings show up right on the BGE bill you already get. It's free to join, and there's no credit check.

How much can you save? Savings range from 10% to 20% on the value of the solar credits on your account. The larger savings go to households that take part in programs like SNAP, Medicaid, or energy assistance. Your savings will move up and down a bit from month to month with the sun and your usage, but your discount rate is locked in.

There's one catch: each solar farm only has so many spots, and once it's full, it's full. Finding out takes about two minutes. Send a recent BGE bill through the secure upload at LowerMyElectricBill.org, and we'll tell you exactly what's open for your account and what you'd save. There's no obligation.

LowerMyElectricBill.org markets community solar and is not affiliated with BGE or any government agency. Savings vary and are subject to eligibility, availability, and contract terms.

This post is an advertorial piece contributed by a Patch Community Partner, a local brand partner. To learn more, click here.