Welcome to the Maryland Public Service Commission

A customer is responsible for payment of all past-due, current, and future bills for service provided to the customer. However, a utility may not refuse service to you for nonpayment of an outstanding bill that is over seven years old, unless you signed an agreement to pay the outstanding bill before the expiration of this period, or the outstanding bill was for service that you obtained fraudulently.

The Office of Home Energy Programs (OHEP), within the Maryland Department of Human Services, is available to help consumers who need help with paying their winter heating and/or yearly electric bills. Consumers may apply for the Maryland Energy Assistance Program (MEAP) for help with their heating bill (gas, electric or oil). Payments are made directly to the customer’s fuel provider or utility company one time per year.

In addition, consumers may apply for the Electric Universal Service Program (EUSP). This program provides assistance dollars that are applied to reduce future electric bills. The consumer is required to participate in budget billing to receive this grant. The grant is available once per program year. Consumers may also be eligible for help with past due electric bills provided they had not received arrearage retirement assistance within the past seven years. For more information, including the income eligibility requirements, contact OHEP.

The Fuel Fund of Maryland is also an assistance resource. The Fuel Fund pays a portion of an eligible customer’s outstanding bill—the customer is responsible for paying the rest. Customers must have received all other government and program help first before contacting Fuel Fund. Households can receive help from Fuel Fund once every 12 months.

The utility is required to plan interruptions at a time that will not cause unreasonable inconvenience to customers and, if feasible, provide adequate notice to those who will be affected. Many planned interruptions are overnight or during the day when most customers are at work or in school. Planned interruptions are needed in order for the utility to perform emergency work and other repairs so that the system continues to work safely and reliably.

If the work needed is due to emergency repairs, chances are the utility is not able to provide written notice in advance. If notice is provided, the utility will normally include the date and the time when the planned outage will occur. Often the utility will allow for more time than what is actually needed to do the work, and the work will be done “weather permitting”. If you received notice about a planned outage and you have any questions, you should contact the utility for more information. The utility does not file notice of planned outages to the Public Service Commission.