Smart Energy Solutions

Current Campaigns

Energy Efficient Maryland

In the face of rising energy costs, Maryland PIRG is working to chart the path towards a sensible, reliable and affordable energy future for our state. Energy efficiency is the fastest and most affordable way to meet our energy needs, and we are working to pass legislation to reduce Maryland’s energy use 15 percent by 2015 through energy efficiency and conservation. More.

No New Nukes

Constellation Energy has proposed building a new nuclear power plant on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. The new reactor would be expensive, threaten public health, and damage the environment. Maryland PIRG is advocating for safer and more affordable energy solutions. More.

Fair Utility Rates

Over 1.2 million Marylanders saw their electric rates increase by 68 percent, while energy companies made record profits. Maryland PIRG is working to restore accountability to Maryland’s electric system. More.

Overview

Powerful energy companies have rewritten the rules that govern our utilities. Now, companies like Constellation can charge prices for power that are completely unrelated to the cost of generating that power. Our utilities are no longer accountable to the people they serve. Our electric system is in the hands of companies that are more interested in maximizing profits than in serving the people of Maryland. These companies will keep fighting to bend more rules their way.

Instead of giving in to the energy companies, Maryland lawmakers should reinstate public oversight of our state’s utility companies and encourage those companies and consumers to make smart investments that benefit Marylanders, today and in the future.

Smart investments in energy-efficient homes and appliances and clean, local sources of energy will allow Marylanders to maintain our quality of life while reducing our dependence on expensive and unsafe sources of energy.

Maryland PIRG is working to chart the path toward a smart, reliable and affordable energy future for our state.

News

Statement of Maryland PIRG State Director, Johanna Neumann, in response to Gov. O’Malley touring Constellation Energy’s Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Southern Maryland. 5/01/2008

General Assembly Passes Energy Efficiency Bills 4/07/2008

Energy Efficiency Bills Pass House and Senate 4/03/2008

Newsroom

Reports

Energy Saved. Dollars Earned 2/20/2008

The High Cost of Nuclear Power: Why Maryland Can’t Afford a New Reactor 3/06/2007

More Reports

Results

• In 2007, Maryland PIRG helped pass energy efficiency standards for seven household and commercial appliances, including walk-in refrigerators and freezers as well as furnaces installed in new homes. The bill will save consumers millions of dollars in energy costs.

• In 2004, the Maryland PIRG-backed Clean Energy bill was signed into law by then Gov. Robert Ehrlich, requiring Maryland utilities to ramp up the amount of renewable energy they use from less than 1 percent to 7.5 percent by 2018.