2026 Utility RELIEF Act

On May 12, 2026, Governor Wes Moore signed the Utility RELIEF (Reducing Energy Load Inflation for Everyday Families) Act into law. This omnibus energy bill includes important tools and regulatory guidance that have the potential to impact your utility bill. At more than 140 pages, there’s a lot to unpack, and there’s plenty of work ahead to ensure the best possible implementation before the Public Service Commission (PSC) and federal regulators.

Because the RELIEF Act was designated as “emergency legislation,” many provisions became effective as soon as the Governor signed them into law, while certain others just recently became effective on July 1^st.

In response to questions our office has received, OPC created the following FAQs as a resource for customers looking to understand the impact of the legislation. These FAQs are not a full explanation of the bill or its benefits—for a more complete description, please refer to the 90-Day Report, published by the Department of Legislative Services (pdf pages 307-317)—nor do they constitute legal advice.

Click here to view a PDF version of the FAQs.