When Gov. Wes Moore (D) took office in mid-January, he vowed to shake up the Maryland Public Service Commission, a powerful but obscure agency that regulates gas and electric utilities. Critics in recent years have complained that the PSC hasn’t been proactive enough when it comes to the state’s strategy for fighting climate change.
Moore moved swiftly to remake the five-member PSC. He rescinded two recess appointments to the commission that his predecessor made last summer. He appointed a new chair to take over on July 1. And he consistently said his goal for the agency is “environmental stewardship while ensuring ratepayers are protected.”
But the transition at the Public Service Commission has prompted a national ratings agency for energy and utility investors to downgrade its assessment of Maryland’s regulatory framework.
Last month, Regulatory Research Associates, a group within S&P Global Commodity Insights, a national analyst of commodity businesses, said it was downgrading its assessment of Maryland’s regulatory environment “to reflect increasing uncertainty and the potential for a more restrictive regulatory climate in coming months, as the new governor, Wes Moore, moves forward with his energy agenda and recasts the Maryland Public Service Commission.” The RRA added: “Coming at a time when the state is considering major issues related to the pace of the energy transition, and when the PSC has six major energy utility rate cases before it, three of which involve multiyear rate plans, the turnover at the commission is particularly concerning for investors.”
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Josh Kurtz over at Maryland Matters
