State's First Opt-Out Aggregation Now Won't Begin Delivery Until June 2026

According to a filing from Maryland PSC Staff concerning the Maryland SOS Procurement Improvement Process group, "Montgomery County confirmed, via email from the County’s attorney to the SOS procurement improvement process parties on August 7, 2023 that the CCA [Montgomery County community choice aggregation] would start providing power to customers no earlier than June 1, 2026."

Because Montgomery County has indicated that the CCA will not start prior to June 1, 2026, the PIP parties recommend that the standard SOS procurement be modified to limit Pepco procurement to exclude any contracts that purchase power for Montgomery County SOS accounts for service after June 1, 2026. Potomac Edison has also slightly modified its bid schedule at this time to avoid SOS procurement purchases later than June 1, 2026.

While the PIP did not reach consensus on any other CCA-related changes to SOS, the PIP report does set forth the issues (most discussions in PIP occurred before the County announced the new, later start date): "The PIP parties considered two proposals to address this situation for Pepco: 1) a geographic split whereby Montgomery County and Prince Georges County load would be bid separately, with no power sought for Montgomery County after October 1, 2025;9 and 2) a proposal that would have Pepco anticipate the percentage of accounts that would opt out of the CCA and procure the corresponding residual amount of power for Montgomery County’s remaining SOS customers. Since Montgomery County has announced that the CCA will not start power delivery before June 1, 2026, and the PIP did not achieve consensus on a recommended proposal, the PIP parties concluded that it is premature to ask the Commission to decide between the proposals and recommend that the Commission make the determination of CCA-related issues at a later date. The parties anticipate further meetings and discussions over the course of the coming year, and will work towards presenting the Commission with either a consensus proposal or a choice of proposals prior to next April."

Other notable developments from the PIP group report are covered in our related story today (click link below):

SOS Workgroup Proposes Shifting Responsibility For Certain RTO Charges From Wholesale Suppliers To Utilities (Seeks To Reduce SOS Risk Premiums)