Business electricity and natural gas suppliers in Maryland
How commercial and industrial companies in Maryland buy electricity and gas: which utilities deliver it, what happens if you do not choose a supplier, how PJM sets the costs behind the price, and how to run a competitive purchase.
Customers of Maryland's investor-owned utilities have been able to choose an electricity supplier since July 2000. Customers who do not choose take Standard Offer Service (SOS), bought through wholesale procurements the PSC oversees, and large customers' default supply is priced hourly. Discovery Energy Utility Audits buys electricity and natural gas for multi-site companies with sites in Maryland: it inventories every account, invites every active supplier to one RFP, compares offers line for line, tracks each contract to renewal in TaraBase and audits the utility bills behind it. Its procurement fee is disclosed in advance.
01 / 07
Who delivers electricity in Maryland
The utility in each territory owns the wires and bills delivery under a tariff the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) approves, whoever supplies the energy. Municipal utilities and cooperatives usually sit outside retail choice. Every utility in the state is listed in Discovery's Maryland electric utility directory.
| Utility | Area | Grid |
|---|---|---|
| BGE (Baltimore Gas and Electric) | Baltimore and central Maryland | PJM (BGE zone) |
| Pepco | Montgomery and Prince George's counties | PJM (PEPCO zone) |
| Delmarva Power | Eastern Shore | PJM (DPL zone) |
| Potomac Edison (FirstEnergy) | Western and north-central Maryland | PJM (APS zone) |
| SMECO | Southern Maryland (cooperative with choice) | PJM |
02 / 07
What happens if a business does not choose a supplier
Maryland splits SOS by size. Type I covers smaller commercial customers; Type II covers non-residential customers with a PJM capacity peak load contribution of less than 600 kW, at a fixed price set by procurement; Type III covers larger customers, whose default supply is Hourly Priced Service (HPS) tied to PJM locational marginal prices. A Maryland plant above 600 kW that never chose a supplier is on hourly pricing.
Maryland utilities have also filed large-load tariffs for data centers and similar customers. Discovery's briefing on Maryland's large-load tariffs covers what commercial and industrial customers should watch.
03 / 07
Capacity, transmission and why prices moved
In PJM, capacity is bought in a forward auction and charged to each account through its peak load contribution (PLC), set from the account's demand in the five summer peak hours of the year before. The auction price was $28.92 per MW-day for 2024/25, $329.17 for 2026/27, $333.44 for 2027/28 and $325 for 2028/29, the third auction in a row at the price cap. At $329.17 per MW-day, each 1 MW of PLC costs about $120,147 a year before the utility's adjustment factors. Maryland commercial prices rose 21.3% in the first half of 2026 against 2025, among the largest increases in the country.
How a contract treats these charges, fixed or passed through, matters more than the headline rate. See charges by market and what to do about PJM capacity charges.
04 / 07
Natural gas for businesses in Maryland
BGE, Washington Gas and Columbia Gas of Maryland offer gas supplier choice, and larger sites can buy gas under transportation service. Winter capacity for the region is rated in Discovery's Washington, DC and Baltimore winter stress record and Delmarva record.
Discovery's natural gas procurement page explains transport eligibility, NYMEX and basis, balancing, and firm versus interruptible service.
05 / 07
Brokers, suppliers and licensing in Maryland
Maryland requires electricity brokers to hold a license from the PSC. Ask any broker for its license. Discovery Energy acts as an energy broker in its procurement work; its energy broker licenses and registrations are held by Energy Auction Exchange, LLC. Ask Discovery for the license or registration that covers your Maryland sites. Suppliers serving Maryland customers are licensed by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), which keeps the list of active suppliers. A broker can only bid your Maryland sites to suppliers active in each utility territory, and only if it is licensed or registered where the state requires it. How brokers are paid, and what to ask, is covered in energy broker fees.
06 / 07
How Discovery buys electricity and gas in Maryland
Inventory
Every Maryland account: utility, rate class, default or supplier service, contract end date, usage, capacity and transmission tags.
Check the bills
Rate class, riders, demand and meter setup are tested against the tariff before a contract locks in the baseline. See utility bill audits.
Time and bid
One RFP to every active supplier, timed with the monthly Energy Risk Report, with Maryland sites bid alongside the rest of the portfolio. See the multi-state RFP.
Compare and sign
Offers side by side on the same terms, in each structure that fits: fixed, fixed with pass-throughs, index, block and index or layered. No contract is signed without your written approval.
Track
Every contract in TaraBase, with renewals flagged well in advance so nothing rolls onto default or month-to-month pricing.
How far back utility overcharges can be refunded in Maryland is on the Maryland refunds page.
07 / 07
Questions about buying energy in Maryland
Can businesses choose their electricity supplier in Maryland?
Customers of Maryland's investor-owned utilities have been able to choose an electricity supplier since July 2000. Customers who do not choose take Standard Offer Service (SOS), bought through wholesale procurements the PSC oversees, and large customers' default supply is priced hourly.
Who are the retail energy providers in Maryland?
Suppliers are licensed by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), which keeps the list of active suppliers. Discovery invites every supplier active in each utility territory to its RFPs rather than a short list.
Which electric companies serve businesses in Maryland?
BGE (Baltimore Gas and Electric); Pepco; Delmarva Power; Potomac Edison (FirstEnergy); SMECO. They deliver the power; the supply can come from a competitive supplier.
How do I compare commercial electricity offers in Maryland?
Put every offer on the same product, term and treatment of capacity, transmission and other pass-through charges, then compare price. Check usage tolerance, auto-renewal and early termination terms before signing.
Sources
- COMAR 20.52.01.02, Standard offer service definitions, Type II below 600 kW peak load contribution; Type III large customers; hourly priced service.
- Maryland PSC, Status report on electric restructuring, choice since July 1, 2000.
- EIA Table 5.6.B as compiled by StartBusinessByState, Maryland commercial prices up 21.3% in January to June 2026.
- PJM, 2026/2027 Base Residual Auction Report, $28.92 per MW-day for 2024/25 and $329.17 for 2026/27.
- PJM, 2028/2029 Base Residual Auction results (July 14, 2026), $325 per MW-day cap; 2027/28 at $333.44.
Find out what your bills should have cost.
Send one recent bill per site, or a list of accounts. We tell you where we expect findings before you sign anything. No upfront audit fee.