The Maryland Public Services Commission has started down the road toward addressing the state?s electricity issues.
The PSC, which oversees Maryland?s utility industry, last week hosted a two-day planning conference to discuss the state?s expected growth in electricity demand and how to meet the challenges and mitigate prices.
“We feel like this was a good first step in bringing people together to discuss issues related to energy in the state,” PSC spokeswoman LaWanda Edwards said. “The next step would be to look at how we can do what was discussed.”
The conference focused on issues of efficiency and demand, future-generation capabilities and potential transmission increases, said Michael Kormos, senior vice president of reliability for PJM Interconnection.
“Things are getting tight, and it?s impressive that the commission is taking the steps now to address this before things are really tough five years from now,” Kormos said.
PJM, a regional transmission organization with headquarters in Valley Forge, Pa., coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in parts of Maryland, the District of Columbia and 12 other states.
The conference was “certainly timely,” said Therese Yewell, manager of government affairs in Maryland for Pepco Holdings Inc. Pepco Holdings owns Pepco, which provides electric service to more than 725,000 residential and commercial customers in Montgomery and Price George?s counties.
“There will be ongoing discussion,” Yewell said. “Nothing was decided, but there isn?t going to be a single solution. It?s going to be a mixture of solutions.”
Gov. Martin O?Malley last week hosted his own state energy summit and set a goal to reduce the amount of energy used per person during the next eight years by 15 percent. The reduction would save ratepayers $1.8 billion during that time period, according to state projections.
The next step
» The PSC will assemble work groups later this summer as a follow-up to the conference to develop an action plan for Maryland?s energy future.
