By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
By any measure, Maryland’s energy situation has crossed from inconvenience into warning territory. Residential utility rates are up 44% since 2020, with some households seeing winter bills double—or worse—over the past year. Against that backdrop, Wes Moore signed Executive Order 01.01.2025.27, “Building an Affordable and Reliable Energy Future,” in mid-December, pledging a whole-of-government response to affordability, grid reliability, and surging demand from data centers.
The order deserves credit for acknowledging reality: Maryland’s energy system is strained, expensive, and increasingly vulnerable. But as a governing document, it also reflects a familiar Annapolis pattern—careful process, long timelines, and unresolved debates about what actually powers the state.
What the Order Gets Right
At its core, the executive order recognizes three hard truths that center-right voters have been raising for years.
First, ratepayers are being crushed. Moore openly called the system “upside down,” conceding that policies and utility structures too often reward cost overruns while families absorb the shock. Directing the Maryland Energy Administration to push the Public Service Commission to review budget billing transparency is a modest but reasonable consumer-protection step.
Second, the order takes a technology-first approach to the grid, requiring utilities to consider grid-enhancing technologies and so-called “non-wires alternatives” before building new transmission lines. That appeals to fiscal conservatives and pragmatists alike: squeeze more capacity out of what already exists before asking ratepayers to bankroll massive new infrastructure.
Third, the administration is finally acknowledging the data center elephant in the room. Maryland’s electricity demand is rising fast, driven in part by energy-hungry server farms, while generation capacity lags behind. Streamlining siting and permitting—especially by prioritizing brownfields and industrial land—could reduce red tape and attract private investment without paving over farmland.
Where Skepticism Is Warranted
Still, the order raises as many questions as it answers.
Most notably, it sidesteps the baseload debate. Republican leaders argue that Maryland cannot modernize its way out of a supply problem without reliable, always-on generation. Jason Buckel has blamed years of Democratic energy policy for driving producers away, while Steve Hershey has warned that intermittent renewables alone cannot carry the load.
The executive order does not squarely address natural gas or nuclear energy—two options frequently cited by center-right lawmakers as essential to affordability and reliability. Instead, it leans on councils, subcabinets, and future recommendations, all of which may help coordination but do little for families opening their bills today.
There is also no immediate rate relief. Moore has been candid about that, but honesty does not lower costs. Rebates authorized earlier this year—roughly $40 per household—were welcomed, yet many residents view them as symbolic against triple-digit monthly increases.
A Setup for 2026
Politically, the order reads less like a finish line and more like a starting gun for the 2026 legislative session. The new Energy Advisory Council is tasked with reporting back by mid-2026, setting the stage for bills on grid reform, data center impacts, and possibly energy supply incentives.
That makes implementation the real story. Will utilities actually be forced to justify costs? Will advanced technologies meaningfully reduce congestion? And will lawmakers confront the uncomfortable question of what powers Maryland when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing?
The Bottom Line
Governor Moore is right about the diagnosis: energy affordability is becoming a kitchen-table crisis, and ignoring it is no longer an option. His executive order contains sensible, pro-innovation ideas that many center-right voters can support.
But until the administration is willing to confront supply head-on—and deliver relief faster than another study cycle—Marylanders will remain skeptical. For families watching their utility bills climb, process is not enough. Results will be the only measure that matters.
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