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PSC Seeks Comment On Whether Retail Supplier Price, Billing, Market Share Reports Should Be Made Public
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The Maryland PSC has sought comments on whether certain reports on retail energy supplier prices and billing, filed by both suppliers and utilities, shall be made public
While, as noted below, the Office of People's Counsel has sought public disclosure of two billing mechanism reports (not pricing), the PSC's request for comments implicates all utility and supplier reports filed pursuant to Public Utilities Act §§ 7-510(g) and 7-604.2(e) concerning "monthly price data"
Among other things, §§ 7-510(g) requires the utilities to report each third–party supplier's average residential rate broken
out by supplier. Suppliers acting as billing entities must also file reports with their own average rate
The Office of People's Counsel has specifically proposed that tables showing the dual billing "market share" (number of accounts billed) of each supplier, and the supplier consolidated billing "market share" (number of accounts billed) of each supplier, should be made public
In Table 2, which OPC proposes to make public, the utilities
identify the number of residential dual billed accounts served by each supplier during the monthly
reporting period, and identify each supplier by name.
In Table 3, which OPC proposes to make public, the utilities identify the number of residential SCB accounts served
by each supplier during the monthly reporting period, and identify each supplier by name.
OPC has argued that this information does not constitute confidential commercial
information under the Maryland Public Information Act, nor does it present a legitimate business interest that would
justify withholding it from the public release.
PSC Staff had proposed confidential treatment for the two tables
Staff opposed OPC's proposal and said, "In response to Staff’s Report on 2024’s Senate Bill 1 Do Not Transfer List and Residential
Retail Supplier Customer Prices Paid Reporting, filed on December 6, 2024, the Commission
issued Order No. 91638, and stated, 'Additionally, suppliers submitting data on total energy sales
for SCB or dual billing customers are permitted to submit this information confidentially.' OPC
did not file any request for reconsideration."
Staff cited several court cases supporting a determination that the relevant data is "confidential" under the Public Information Act, and thus not subject to public disclosure
The Retail Energy Supply Association also opposed OPC's request, stating, "Revealing the number of residential customers that a supplier serves by dual billing and
by SCB would allow a supplier’s competitors to know how much of the dual billing or SCB market
each supplier serves. This type of customer count information is not readily available, and
suppliers keep it confidential. Given that there are very few dual bill suppliers and no SCB
suppliers currently, the disclosure of specific billing methods and information would enable
competitors to determine under- or over-performing billing methods and products and how to
exploit them. Moreover, disclosing this market share would allow competitors to reverse-engineer
to gain intelligence about pricing, products, and marketing strategies."
The PSC invited stakeholders to address the following:
(1) whether it is in the public interest to require monthly price data under PUA §§ 7-510(g) and 7-604.2(e) to be filed publicly; and
(2) any legal and policy considerations if monthly price data under PUA §§ 7-510(g) and 7-604.2(e) is filed publicly, including the applicability of the Maryland Public Information Act.
PC 67, PC67
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November 5, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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