ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Lawmakers are hearing from constituents that energy bills are too high and are taking aim at lowering them.
"Everyone of our constituents is feeling the impact of higher electricity prices," Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey said.
"But the most common by far issue is my energy bills are too high," Sen. Katie Fry Hester said.
Annapolis considering dozens of proposals to cut down on energy bill costs in Maryland
"Maryland residents are facing a significant increase in energy bills," Sen. Mike McKay said.
Republicans are backing several pieces of legislation aimed at rolling back fees tied to greenhouse gas initiatives.
One of those bills, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Hershey, would pause the EmPower Fund. It's a charge on utility bills that helps residents pay for energy efficiency upgrades.
"This bill in itself, just by pausing it would save $17 a month," Hershey said.
On the Democratic side, Senator Hester is pushing for greater regulation of data centers, which she says are already adding to customer's utility bills.
"When I was talking to the Office of the People's Council here in the State of Maryland they say that probably right now at least $10 of the customers bill is due to that data center capacity," Fry Hester said.
Her bill would encourage data centers in Maryland to shift some tasks to non-peak hours and would reward data centers that generate their own energy.
The pressure from data centers is only expected to grow. Fry Hester warned that the region faces a significant infrastructure challenge in the coming years.
"Across the region what we're seeing is that by the early 2030's we're going to need 32 gigawatts of new energy infrastructure. That's $163 billion of energy generation that has to be built," Fry Hester said.
That could translate to roughly $70 per month added to the average energy bill.
The proposals are complicated by the complexity of the energy market itself. Multiple bills are expected to advance as lawmakers work toward lowering costs for Maryland residents.
