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Maryland PSC Establishes Conditions Under Which Supplier & Broker License Renewals, Relinquishments May Be Approved By PSC Staff Under Delegated Authority
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The Maryland PSC issued an order setting forth the conditions under which retail energy supplier license renewals or relinquishments may be approved by PSC Staff under delegated authority, rather than adjudicated by the Commission at an administrative meeting
In Maryland, the term "supplier" as used in licensing includes brokers, marketers, and aggregators, in addition to load-serving retail suppliers
The conditions adopted by the PSC which allow Staff to approve license renewals and relinquishments under delegated authority are not as narrow as the conditions previously proposed by PSC Staff or the Office of People's Counsel, but still require that, for renewals, the supplier shall have no "history of complaints" with the PSC for the prior three years (regardless of the outcome of such complaints)
PSC Staff had proposed that suppliers with any complaint history (not limited to the past 3 years) not be eligible for delegated Staff renewal approval, while OPC had proposed a much more strenuous license review process, as more fully detailed in our prior story (click here)
License Renewals
The PSC delegated to Staff the
authority to approve retail supplier license renewals with the following conditions at the
time a supplier applies for license renewal:
(a) the supplier, "has no history of complaints with CAD [the PSC's Consumer Affairs Division] within the previous
three years";
(b) the supplier must submit proof of compliance with the reporting
requirements outlined in Commission Order Nos. 91463 (PC 65) and 91638
(PC 67);
(c) the supplier has paid all outstanding Commission assessments;
(d) the supplier is fully compliant with all license requirements set forth in PUA
§§ 7-507 and 7-603; and
(e) the supplier, or its designated representative, has met the education and
training requirement established by PUA § 7-311.
The Commission did not delegate the authority to approve any supplier
license renewal applications that do not meet any of the above-referenced conditions, and
such applications shall be brought before the Commission for review during an
Administrative Meeting.
The Commission said that retail suppliers that applied for license renewals
prior to the deadlines set forth in Corrected Commission Order No. 91590 (which started the three-year renewal process for all suppliers) will not be
deemed to have expired as of the issuance of today's order, and their renewal applications may
proceed under the standards set forth in the order issued today
License Relinquishments
The PSC delegated to Staff the authority to approve retail supplier
license relinquishments with the following conditions at the time a supplier applies for
license relinquishment:
(a) the supplier has no unresolved complaints with CAD;
(b) the supplier must submit proof of compliance with the reporting
requirements outlined in Commission Order Nos. 91463 (PC 65) and 91638
(PC 67);
(c) the supplier has paid all outstanding Commission assessments; and
(d) the supplier is fully compliant with all license requirements set forth in PUA
§§ 7-507 and 7-603.
The Commission did not delegate the authority to approve any license
relinquishments that do not meet any of the above-referenced conditions, and such
applications shall be brought before the Commission for review during an Administrative
Meeting.
The PSC declined RESA’s recommendation to adopt a more streamlined process for supplier
license relinquishments in which only residential service is relinquished and in which commercial and industrial authority is retained by the supplier
The PSC said, "Partial relinquishments should
be treated the same as those where a supplier requests to relinquish its entire license; should
a partial relinquishment not meet the Staff delegation standards as delineated above, then
that relinquishment request will be subject to review by the Commission during an
Administrative Meeting."
Retail Supplier Financial Requirements
The PSC declined to open a rulemaking at this time to amend the
financial integrity and bonding provisions for retail suppliers and brokers under COMAR 20.51.02.08H(5) and
20.54.02.08D(3).
Staff had suggested that the PSC may wish to review whether the rule should be updated, while OPC had specifically proposed rule changes to implement a proposed tiered bonding requirement, under which a retail supplier would be required to post a $250,000 base bond, plus an additional $100,000 for every 2,500 customers served, up to a maximum bond amount of $2,000,000, as more fully detailed in our prior story (click here)
PC 65, PC 67, PC65, PC67
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Addresses Suggestions For Rulemaking On Retail Supplier & Broker Financial Requirements
October 23, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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