Maryland Community Solar Program

What is Community Solar

The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) has adopted regulations for a community solar pilot program in Maryland, with an emphasis on providing renewable energy benefits for low- and moderate-income customers. This program allows Potomac Edison customers to participate in a solar array without owning the equipment required to generate solar electricity. Community solar customers are expected to see some savings on their electric bills and all Maryland residents will benefit from more clean energy options.

In addition, the program will encourage private investment in Maryland’s solar industry and diversify the state’s energy resource mix to meet Maryland’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act goals.  

Subscriber Organizations

  • Individual community solar projects will be operated by subscriber organizations (which can include retail electricity suppliers, solar developers, etc.). These organizations are approved by the PSC and the electric company serving the location of each project.

    Interested parties can obtain additional information from the Maryland Public Service Commission Website.

    Community Solar Pilot Program-Frequently Asked Questions - Electricity (state.md.us)

Step 1 - Apply to become a Community Solar Developer

Step 2 - Work with PE-MD Interconnection for solar site

  • Applications and paperwork for the solar project will be submitted for approval from Maryland Interconnection department (PE-MD).

    During this phase, the Developer or Contractor will need to work directly with Engineering or Interconnection on status of the project, approvals and project completion.  

    Community Solar (firstenergycorp.com)

Step 3 - Bi-directional Meter installation

  • When the solar project is complete and all required paperwork, inspections and applicable fees are received the Interconnection department will request the installation of a bi-directional meter.

    After the bi-directional meter is installed at the solar site, an account will be established for the Host and the Subscriber Organization ID Number will be created.

    At that time, with the required information the Subscriber Organization or Third Party Representative can begin submitting customer lists for allocation.

    Please note - No customer list will be processed by Supplier Services - PEMD until the Subscriber Organization or affiliate is granted permission to operate, a FE bi-directional meter is installed, and an active Host account exists.

Step 4 - Provide Bill Credits with the Subscriber Organization Customer List

  • 1.) Required Subscriber Organization or Third-Party information

    1.a. The Subscriber Organization will need to contact their Developer or Contractor to ensure the project has been completed, bi-directional meter is installed and Permission to Operate was received.                                

    1.b. If there will be a Third Party representing the Subscriber Organization, a Letter of Authorization (LOA) will need to be filled out and returned using “Contact Supplier Services” before any information can be released to the Third Party.       

    1.c. Prior to submitting the Subscriber Organization Customer List, a Subscriber Organization or Third-Party should already have: the Subscriber Organization ID Number and the Subscriber Organization Interconnection GEN Number.
     

    2.) Submitting the Initial Subscriber Organization Customer List   

    2.a. The completed Subscriber Organization Customer List form must be completely filled out and emailed to Supplier Services using the "Contact Supplier Services" form at Contact Supplier Services (firstenergycorp.com)

    by the fifth business day prior to the end of the month. This is the definite deadline to receive and process the subscriber list each month, but PEMD can accept the subscriber list at any time prior to the fifth business day to the end of the month. 

    Receiving the customer list five business days prior to the end of the generation month may cause early portion billed Subscribers not to receive the generation credit until up to two billing cycles.

    The Subscriber Organization Customer List must contain at least two Subscribers to be processed.

    Please note - You may submit a Subscriber Customer List, but the list will not be processed until the facility has a FE meter and active Host account in our system. The Developer or Contractor should be able to provide the status of the project as needed.

    2.b. Once the Customer List has been processed, a communication will be sent to the Subscriber Organization or Third Party Representative informing them of the status of the list.                  

    2.c. A final communication will be sent to confirm the list has been processed and notifying of potential unsubscribed energy. Customers rejected during the enrollment process are not subscribed. 

    Any unsubscribed energy will be purchased from the subscriber organization at the net hourly, integrated, real-time Locational Marginal Price (LMP) or energy at APS residual aggregate zone within PJM. All valid accounts will be programmed prior to the last day of the submission month (not the generation month).
     

    3.) Submitting subsequent Subscriber Organization Customer Lists

    3.a. Every month, a Subscriber Organization will be required to submit any changes to their original Customer List, such as Add(A), Change(C), Drop(D), or Same(S).  

    The completed Subscriber Organization Customer List form must be emailed to Supplier Services using the “Contact Supplier Services” form at Contact Supplier Services (firstenergycorp.com) by the fifth business day prior to the end of the month. This is the deadline to receive and process the list each month, but PEMD will accept the list any time before that date.          

    Receiving the list five business days prior to the end of the generation month may cause early portion billed subscribers not to receive the generation credit until up to two billing cycles later.

    The Subscriber Organization Customer List must contain at least two Subscribers to be processed. 

    3.b. Once the Customer List has been processed, a communication will be sent to the Subscriber Organization or Third Party Representative informing them. 

    3.c. A final communication will be sent to the Subscriber Organization or Third Party representative to confirm the list has been processed and provide notification of potential unsubscribed energy. Customers rejected during the enrollment process are not subscribed.

    Any unsubscribed energy will be purchased from the subscriber organization at the net hourly, integrated, real-time Locational Marginal Price (LMP) for energy at the APS residual aggregate zone within PJM. All valid accounts will be programmed prior to the last day of the submission month (not the generation month).

Community Solar Host Template

This template is format protected. Please do not alter the format associated with this template. If this format is changed or updated, list processing may be delayed.
 

Please attach the completed form using the “Contact Supplier Services” form at www.firstenergycorp.com/customerchoice. Select “MD Community Solar” from the web form drop-down selection.

If the subscriber template is submitted through another mailbox rather than “MD Community Solar” the customer list may not get processed in a timely manner.


Per the PSC Community Solar tariff, a subscriber organization must ensure and certify that any customer’s total subscriptions and net-metered generation do not exceed 200 percent of each customer’s baseline annual usage.

As such, a subscriber organization may request a customer’s 12-month historical usage. To receive this information, the Subscriber Organization must provide a customer signed Letter of Authorization (LOA) form as provided below.

Please attach the completed form using the “Contact Supplier Services” form Contact Supplier Services (firstenergycorp.com). Select “Maryland Community Solar” from the web form drop-down selection.

 

 

Subscribers

  • Individual subscribers are customers who buy a share of the electricity generated by a community solar energy generating system and get a credit on the bill from their utility. Community solar customers are expected to see some savings on their electric bills and all Marylanders will benefit from more clean energy options.

How do I participate in Community Solar as a subscriber?

How do I choose a Subscriber Organization?

  • You may subscribe to a community solar project (or even more than one) that is located in the same service territory as your electric utility –whether you get your electricity from the utility or a retail supplier.

How does the credit apply to my bill?

  • You will get a bill credit based on the amount of electricity produced by your share of the project.

    A utility may choose to apply the kilowatt-hour credit to each subscriber’s bill as either a reduction in kilowatt-hour use OR a dollar credit to the subscriber’s billed amount.

    Currently, Potomac Edison uses the reduction in kilowatt-hour method.

    MD Community Solar Subscriber invoice.pdf

What if I have questions about the credit from the Subscriber Organization?

  • Customers participating in the Maryland Community Solar Program would contact their Subscriber Organization with questions about the program, including credit allocation.