Last updated September 17, 2026. The Public Service Commission is still writing parts of these rules, and we’ll update this page as they’re finalized.
If you have solar on your roof in Maryland, or you’re thinking about it, the most important thing to know is a date: July 1, 2027. That’s when the net metering program that Maryland solar owners have used for nearly two decades closes to new customers and a new program takes its place. Systems that are in under the current rules keep them for the life of the system. Systems that come in afterward will be paid less for the power they send to the grid.
This article explains how net metering works today, what the new law changed, who is protected, what’s still undecided, and what it means if you’re planning a system.
How net metering works today
Net metering is the billing arrangement that makes rooftop solar pay off. Your meter runs both ways. Over each monthly billing period, the utility subtracts what your panels sent to the grid from what you pulled from it, and you pay for the difference. If you sent out more than you used, you pay only the fixed customer charge that month and the extra kilowatt-hours carry forward as a credit. Because a kilowatt-hour you export at noon cancels a kilowatt-hour you import at 9 p.m., every kilowatt-hour your system produces, up to what you use in a month, is worth the full retail rate.
Under Maryland law, leftover credits are cashed out each April at the utility’s average supply rate for the prior twelve months. Customers of BGE, Pepco, Delmarva, and Potomac Edison can instead elect to roll credits forward indefinitely; the law does not require co-ops like SMECO and Choptank to offer that option, so SMECO members receive the April credit. The law also requires your net metering contract to be “identical, in energy rates, rate structure, and monthly charges” to a regular customer’s, and bars utilities from adding solar-only demand, standby, or minimum charges. (Public Utilities Article §7-306; BGE payout options; SMECO solar FAQ)
What the new law changed
In the 2026 session, the General Assembly passed the Utility RELIEF Act (HB 1532, Chapter 353), signed May 12, 2026. Most of the bill is about utility rates, data centers, and energy efficiency, but it rewrote the net metering section of the Public Utilities Article. Three changes matter for rooftop solar:
- The current program closes to new customers on July 1, 2027. The law now directs utilities to offer the existing net metering tariff on a first-come, first-served basis “until the earlier of” the date statewide net-metered capacity reaches 3,000 megawatts or July 1, 2027. (Chapter 353, §7-306(d)(1))
- The PSC must design a replacement. By February 1, 2027, the Public Service Commission must approve “a framework for a net energy metering program to begin July 1, 2027.” The law spells out what that program has to do: provide “fair compensation” to solar owners and keep encouraging distributed generation, but also “minimize ratepayer costs,” and balance compensation for exported energy against “the needs of the transmission and distribution system” and the impact on non-solar customers “resulting from eligible customer-generators’ reduced contributions to the distribution system.” It also says, in so many words, that the new program should provide incentives “that are less than the incentives provided by the net energy metering program” today. (Chapter 353, §7-306.4)
- The overall cap doubles. The old and new programs together can grow to 6,000 megawatts, which is real room to keep building. (Chapter 353, §7-306.4(E); Fiscal and Policy Note)
Will the 3,000 MW cap hit before the date?
Almost certainly not. The cap counts solar that is actually built and operating, and it includes community solar projects as well as rooftops. As of June 30, 2025, the PSC counted 1,537 MW statewide, about half the cap, leaving roughly 1,460 MW of room for the two years before July 1, 2027. Rooftop solar has been adding about 110 MW a year, and community solar far less, so the state would need to build four to five times its normal two-year pace to reach the cap first. There is a large community solar pipeline on paper, which is why the General Assembly doubled the overall cap, but most of it is waiting on utility grid upgrades that take years to complete. Starting in January 2027, utilities will report the running total to the PSC monthly, so the count will be public in the final months. For rooftop solar, the date is the deadline that matters. (PSC 2025 Net Metering Report; Chapter 353, §7-306(d); Proposed Regulations, RM 56)
Already have solar? You’re protected, with a few conditions
The law grandfathers every customer who is “under a net energy metering contract or tariff” on July 1, 2027. You stay on today’s rules “until the earlier of” one of four events: the system is decommissioned; you add more panels than it originally had, or increase its AC output; the system “enters into a new interconnection agreement”; or the system is “repowered,” which the law defines as replacing more than 80 percent of the original panel capacity. Routine repair and maintenance, including swapping failed equipment for similar equipment, does not count. (Chapter 353, §7-306(a) and (d)(5))
Two practical takeaways. First, size your system right the first time, because adding panels later means giving up the old rules for the whole system. Second, before adding anything that would require a new interconnection agreement with your utility, ask how it affects your status. The PSC’s draft rules read the new-agreement trigger as applying to physical expansions, and PSC Staff has proposed language confirming that selling your home does not affect grandfathered status, but neither is final yet. (PSC Staff comments, RM 56, item 459)
The open question: what counts as “in” by July 1, 2027
This is the part that matters most if you’re planning a system now, and it hasn’t been settled.
The law protects customers who are “under a net energy metering contract or tariff” on July 1, 2027, but doesn’t define the moment that happens. The PSC published draft rules in June with three options (Proposed Regulations, RM 56):
- Option 1: you submitted an interconnection application to your utility by July 1, 2027. Supported by the Maryland Energy Administration, MDOT, Howard County, the Maryland Rooftop Solar Coalition, and the solar industry groups.
- Option 2: your utility granted permission to operate by July 1, 2027. Supported by BGE, Pepco, Delmarva, and Potomac Edison.
- Option 3: you and your utility signed an interconnection agreement by July 1, 2027. Suggested by PSC Staff as a middle ground; applicants who applied but hadn’t signed by the deadline would go to the new program with priority processing.
PSC Staff recommended Option 1, with Option 3 as the fallback, and warned that a permission-to-operate standard “would penalize projects that remain under development due to utility processing delays outside applicants’ control.” The Office of People’s Counsel, which represents residential ratepayers, backed Option 3. (Staff comments, item 459; OPC comments, item 456) Energy Select filed comments in July supporting the application-date standard, because it’s the only milestone a homeowner and installer actually control. (RM 56 docket, item 426)
The Commission voted on August 11, 2026 to publish the rules in the Maryland Register, but the published text wasn’t out as of this writing. (Rulemaking session minutes, item 465) One more thing worth knowing: the law itself says the PSC must “prioritize the review and approval” of anyone who is still “in the applicable electric company’s interconnection queue” when the new program starts. That’s the safety net for people caught between the two programs, and it’s a hint that simply having an application on file may not be enough. (Chapter 353, §7-306.4(D))
Our advice, until the rule is final: plan to have a signed interconnection agreement, not just an application, well before July 1, 2027. Utility review takes weeks to months, so that means applying in 2026 or early 2027, not in the spring.
What the new program might look like
Nobody knows the numbers yet. The PSC convened a working group in May (PC 78 notice) that must file a draft framework by October 27, 2026; the Commission reports to the General Assembly by December 15, 2026 and must approve the program by February 1, 2027. (Chapter 353, Section 9)
Two design choices will decide how much the change costs a new solar owner. The first is how often exports are netted against imports. Today it’s monthly, so almost all of your production offsets your usage at full value. If the new program nets hourly, or treats every kilowatt-hour that leaves the house as an export, then for a home without a battery more than half of production becomes “export” and gets the lower rate. The second is what an export is worth: the utility’s supply rate (roughly 11 to 13 cents in Maryland right now), a lower “avoided cost” figure, or something in between, possibly varying by time of day. (OPC rate factsheet; SMECO rate notice; Potomac Edison rate)
An illustration, not a forecast: a Southern Maryland home using about 10,500 kWh a year, with a system sized to cover it, saves roughly $2,000 a year under today’s rules at SMECO’s current rates. If the new program nets hourly and credits exports at the supply rate only, that drops about 20 percent. If it credits exports at an avoided-cost rate closer to 6 cents, the drop is around 40 percent. A battery that keeps most of the solar in the house instead of exporting it cuts either loss to the single digits. That’s why storage is likely to become standard on new systems after 2027.
If you’re thinking about solar
Get in early. Under any version of the rule, a project with a signed interconnection agreement before July 2027 is on today’s terms for the life of the system. Give your installer and utility time; don’t count on a spring 2027 start.
Size it right and think about storage now. Adding panels later forfeits the old rules, and a battery changes the math under any of the likely new designs.
Permitting is getting faster. The same law caps residential permit fees at $500 for systems permitted through solar permitting software starting August 1, 2027, requires inspections within an average of five business days, and requires utilities to complete meter swaps for residential solar and storage within five business days of a completed request. (Chapter 353, Local Government Article §1-1320 and Public Utilities Article)
Quick answers
I already have solar. Does anything change for me?
- No. You keep today’s net metering for the life of your system unless you expand it, sign a new interconnection agreement, replace most of the panels, or decommission it.
Does this apply to all electric utilities?
- Yes. Maryland’s net metering law applies to every electric company in the state, co-ops included.
Can I add a battery later without losing net metering?
- Probably, if it doesn’t add panels or increase the system’s AC output, but confirm with your installer and utility before signing anything, because a new interconnection agreement is one of the four triggers in the law.
What if I sell my house?
- The law’s triggers are about the system, not the owner. PSC Staff has proposed language saying an ownership change doesn’t affect grandfathered status; it isn’t final yet.
What should I do right now?
- If you want today’s terms, start the process this year so the interconnection paperwork is done well before July 1, 2027.
Energy Select has installed solar in Southern and Western Maryland since 2003 and participates in the PSC’s net metering rulemaking. If you want to know where a project on your roof would land under these rules, contact our team for a site assessment.