In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. “Commission” means the Public Service Commission. “Energy emergency” means a lack of fuel or the imminent discontinuation of energy services supplied by a fuel vendor or utility vendor that will endanger health, safety, or welfare. “Fuel vendor” means a person that distributes, transports, produces, or offers for sale coal products, fuel oil, kerosene, bottled gas, propane, or wood for fuel use or consumption in the State. “Office” means the Office of Home Energy Programs. “Program” means the Energy Assistance Program. “Utility vendor” means a person that distributes, transports, or produces natural gas or electricity for use or consumption in the State.

There is an Office of Home Energy Programs in the Administration.

The purpose of the Office is to carry out this subtitle.

The Office may employ a staff. Except as otherwise provided by law, the employees of the Office are subject to the State Personnel and Pensions Article.

The Office exercises its authority, duties, and functions under any State law subject to the authority of the Secretary under any State law.

The Office shall maintain liaison with: the United States Department of Health and Human Services; local government units concerned with energy programs; citizens’ groups; utility vendors and major fuel vendors in the State; and any other state, federal, and local units. The Office shall: consult with and advise the local entities described in paragraph (1) of this subsection regarding their energy assistance programs; work at all levels of government to carry out this subtitle; and consult with all utility vendors and major fuel vendors in the State when developing and implementing the Program. The Office shall: collect and assemble information relating to energy assistance available from other units of the State and federal governments; disseminate information to further energy assistance; identify all utility vendors and major fuel vendors in the State and attempt to obtain their voluntary cooperation with the Program; establish and maintain a State information service that utilizes a toll–free telephone number to provide the public with information about the Program and the location of the nearest local energy assistance office; and establish a mechanism for monitoring the effectiveness of the Program to determine whether eligible households are aware of and have access to a local energy assistance office. Consistent with this subtitle and other applicable laws, the Office may enter into contracts or assume any other function necessary to carry out this subtitle. The Office may enter into contracts for any study or research activity that is necessary and proper.

The Office shall: carry out an energy emergency crisis intervention program to prevent low–income households, including the near poor, the elderly, households with children, and those on fixed incomes from experiencing danger to health or survival as a result of an energy emergency; establish intake procedures for those experiencing an energy emergency; establish guidelines for the income and program eligibility of applicants; and identify local public or private agencies to administer the crisis intervention program. The Office shall make payments to fuel vendors and utility vendors that have provided service to persons qualifying for the crisis intervention program. The amount of assistance shall be based on need. The Office shall carry out one or more fuel and utility assistance programs to make payments on behalf of qualified households to defray fuel and utility costs. The Office shall determine program and income eligibility guidelines. The Office shall enroll in any fuel and utility assistance program any household with an individual who meets the financial eligibility requirements established by the Department for a recipient of: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; Supplemental Security Income; or means–tested Veterans Affairs benefits. The amount of assistance shall be based on need.

There is an electric universal service program in the Office. The Office shall implement and administer the electric universal service program. The purpose of the electric universal service program is to assist electric customers with annual incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. The components of the electric universal service program shall include: bill assistance; low–income residential weatherization; and the retirement of arrearages for electric customers who have not received assistance in retiring arrearages under the electric universal service program within the preceding 5 fiscal years. The Department of Housing and Community Development is responsible for administering the low–income residential weatherization component of the electric universal service program. The Office may: establish minimum and maximum benefits available to an electric customer under the bill assistance and arrearage retirement components; and coordinate benefits under the electric universal service program with benefits under the Maryland Energy Assistance Program and other available energy assistance programs. Beginning January 1, 2027, the Office shall authorize benefits under the electric universal service program for an electric customer who meets the eligibility requirements for the program but who does not meet the eligibility requirements for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The Office shall adopt regulations governing eligibility for benefits under the electric universal service program. The Office may, with input from a panel or roundtable of interested parties, contract to assist in administering the bill assistance and the arrearage retirement components of the electric universal service program. The Commission has oversight responsibility for the bill assistance and the arrearage retirement components of the electric universal service program and any other funds expended under this section. In a specific case, the electric universal service program may waive the income eligibility limitation under paragraph (1) of this subsection in order to provide assistance to an electric customer who would qualify for a similar waiver under another program established under this subtitle. If an applicant for bill assistance or arrearage retirement is to be denied due to deficient documentation, the Office shall: promptly provide notice of the deficiency to the applicant; and afford the applicant ample opportunity of not less than 3 months to cure the deficiency. An electric company may not begin the process to terminate service to an applicant while the applicant is curing a deficiency under this paragraph. Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(iii) of this subsection, any assistance received for arrearage retirement by a customer in calendar years 2020 and 2021 may not be counted toward the limitation on the number of times the customer may receive assistance for arrearage retirement. All customers shall contribute to the funding of the electric universal service program through a charge collected by each electric company. The Commission shall determine a fair and equitable allocation for collecting the charges among all customer classes pursuant to subsection (e) of this section. Except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, in accordance with subsection (f)(6) of this section, any unexpended bill assistance and arrearage retirement funds returned to customers under subsection (f) of this section shall be returned to each customer class as a credit in the same proportion that the customer class contributed charges to the fund. The Department shall expend any unexpended bill assistance and arrearage funds that were collected in fiscal years 2010 through 2017, in excess of the total amount authorized under subsection (e) of this section, for one or more of the following purposes: bill assistance and the retirement of arrearages for customers who are eligible to receive assistance at the time services are provided; targeted and enhanced low–income residential weatherization designed to remediate households that are considered ineligible to participate in other State energy efficiency programs due to significant health and safety hazards; an arrearage management program for low–income customers in arrears, including providing credits or matching payments for customers who make timely payments on current bills; or an arrearage prevention program for low–income customers. An electric company shall recover electric universal service program costs in accordance with § 7–512 of the Public Utilities Article. As determined by the Office, bill assistance payments to an electric company may be on a monthly basis for each customer. The Commission shall determine the allocation of the electric universal service charge among the generation, transmission, and distribution rate components of all classes. The Commission may not assess the electric universal service surcharge on a per kilowatt–hour basis. On or before January 1 of each year, the Commission shall report, subject to § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, to the General Assembly on the electric universal service program, including: subject to subsection (e) of this section, a recommendation on the total amount of funds for the electric universal service program for the following fiscal year based on: the level of participation in and the amounts expended on bill assistance and arrearage retirement during the preceding fiscal year; how bill assistance and arrearage retirement payments were calculated during the preceding fiscal year; the projected needs for the bill assistance and the arrearage retirement components for the next fiscal year; and the amount of any bill assistance or arrearage retirement surplus carried over in the electric universal service program fund under subsection (f)(6)(i) of this section; for bill assistance, the total amount of need, as determined by the Commission, for electric customers with annual incomes at or below 175% of the federal poverty level and the basis for this determination; the amount of funds needed, as determined by the Commission, to retire arrearages for electric customers who have not received assistance in retiring arrearages under the electric universal service program within the preceding 7 fiscal years, and the basis for this determination; the amount of funds needed, as determined by the Commission, for bill assistance and arrearage retirement, respectively, for customers for whom income limitations may be waived under subsection (a)(7) of this section, and the basis for each determination; the impact on customers’ rates, including the allocation among customer classes, from collecting the total amount recommended by the Commission under item (i) of this paragraph; and the impact of using other federal poverty level benchmarks on costs and the effectiveness of the electric universal service program. To assist the Commission in preparing its recommendations under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Office shall report to the Commission each year on: the number of customers and the amount of distributions made to fuel customers under the Maryland Energy Assistance Program established under this subtitle, identified by funding source and fuel source; the cost of outreach and education materials provided by the Office for the electric universal service program; and the amount of money that the Department receives, and is projected to receive, for low–income energy assistance from: the Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Fund under § 9–20B–05 of the State Government Article; with respect to electric customers only, the Maryland Energy Assistance Program; and any other federal, State, local, or private source. The Office may satisfy the reporting requirement of subparagraph (i)1 of this paragraph by providing the Commission with a copy of material that contains the required information and that the Office submits to the federal government. The Commission shall include the information provided by the Office under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph in its report to the General Assembly under paragraph (1) of this subsection. Subject to subsection (d)(2) of this section, the Commission shall include the information provided by the Department of Housing and Community Development under subsection (d)(1) of this section in its report to the General Assembly under paragraph (1) of this subsection. The electric universal service program shall be subject to audit by the Office of Legislative Audits in accordance with §§ 2–1220 through 2–1227 of the State Government Article. On or before January 1 of each year, the Department of Housing and Community Development shall report, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, to the General Assembly on the low–income residential weatherization component of the electric universal service program, including: the amount of funds expended during the preceding fiscal year; the level of participation during the preceding fiscal year, including the number of households served in each area of the State; and the types of projects, including the average cost per unit, provided to households during the preceding fiscal year. The Department of Housing and Community Development may satisfy the reporting requirement under paragraph (1) of this subsection by requesting the Commission to include the information in the Commission’s report required under subsection (c) of this section and providing the information to the Commission by the date specified by the Commission. The total amount of funds to be collected for the electric universal service program each year shall be $37 million, allocated in the following manner: $27.4 million shall be collected from the industrial and commercial classes; and $9.6 million shall be collected from the residential class. In this subsection, “fund” means the electric universal service program fund. There is an electric universal service program fund. The Comptroller shall collect the revenue collected by electric companies under subsection (b) of this section and place the revenue into the fund. The General Assembly may appropriate funds supplemental to the funds collected under subsubparagraph 1 of this subparagraph. The fund is a continuing, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of the State Finance and Procurement Article. The purpose of the fund is to assist electric customers as provided in subsection (a)(1) of this section. The Department, with oversight by the Commission, shall disburse the bill assistance and arrearage retirement funds in accordance with the provisions of this section. The Comptroller annually shall disburse up to $1,000,000 of low–income residential weatherization funds to the Department of Housing and Community Development, as provided in the State budget. At the end of a given fiscal year, any unexpended bill assistance and arrearage retirement funds that were collected for that fiscal year shall be retained in the fund and shall be made available for disbursement through the first 6 months of the next fiscal year to customers who: qualify for assistance from the fund during the given fiscal year; apply for assistance from the fund before the end of the given fiscal year; and remain eligible for assistance at the time services are provided. If the Commission determines that an extension is needed, the Commission may extend up to an additional 6 months the period in which unexpended bill assistance and arrearage retirement funds may be made available for disbursement under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. Any bill assistance and arrearage retirement funds collected for a given fiscal year that are retained under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and that remain unexpended at the end of the period allowed under subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph shall be returned to each customer class in the proportion that the customer class contributed charges to the fund for the given fiscal year in the form of a credit toward the charge assessed in the following fiscal year. If the Commission determines that it is impractical to establish a rate credit for the amount to be returned for a given fiscal year to customers under subsubparagraph 1 of this subparagraph, the Commission: may defer the return for not more than 2 additional fiscal years; and shall combine the returned amount for that fiscal year with amounts to be returned for the following fiscal years when calculating the rate credit for the final fiscal year of the period. If a party to a merger or acquisition of an electric company or an affiliate of an electric company is required to distribute a credit to the customers in the electric company’s service territory under an agreement with the Commission in connection with the merger or acquisition, the Commission shall consider the adequacy of the current funding of the electric universal service program in providing assistance to customers who qualify under this section. Any funds deposited into the electric universal service program fund as a result of an agreement with the Commission in connection with a merger or acquisition of an electric company or an affiliate of an electric company are in addition to, and may not substitute for, funds collected under subsection (e) of this section. An arrearage prevention program under subsection (b)(4)(iv) of this section is intended to prevent or reduce arrearages for low–income customers who have participated in a low–income residential weatherization program. The arrearage prevention program is intended as a one–time grant of money to establish ongoing arrearage prevention activities in the State. The Department, in consultation with the Commission, will select for the arrearage prevention program up to two public or private entities as program recipients to administer the program. At least one arrearage prevention program recipient must primarily serve customers in a major urban area of the State. An arrearage prevention program recipient must demonstrate significant efforts to: secure additional private investment in rooftop solar installation, including the use of arrearage prevention program money for credit enhancement, direct project support, or support for program recipients and customers; and provide employment in solar installation to unemployed and underemployed individuals, with preference for those who reside in the local jurisdiction where the installations will occur. The arrearage prevention program may include the installation of rooftop solar electricity generation equipment after energy efficiency measures at the residential property have been completed.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “CMN Program” means the Critical Medical Needs Program established under this section. “Critical medically vulnerable individual” means an individual who: has a severe health condition that will be aggravated due to the termination or noncontinuation of electric or gas service or needs the use of life–support equipment as documented and certified in accordance with regulations on a certification of serious illness or life support form submitted to the appropriate electric or gas company; has or will have their electric or gas service terminated for nonpayment; and is unable to complete the energy assistance applications under available energy assistance programs, including energy efficiency programs offered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. “Navigator” means a representative from a medical facility or from a public or private assistance agency or organization who: is in personal contact with a critical medically vulnerable individual; and assists the critical medically vulnerable individual in the energy assistance application process. There is a CMN Program in the Office. The Office shall implement and administer the CMN Program. In administering the CMN Program, the Office shall partner with the Office of People’s Counsel, the Fuel Fund of Central Maryland, the Cancer Support Foundation, electric and gas companies, nonprofit organizations, other State agencies, the health care community, and any other organization that the Office determines appropriate. The purpose of the CMN Program is to reduce the barriers to the energy assistance application process for critical medically vulnerable individuals and their households in obtaining State and federal financial assistance for their electric, gas, or other energy source bills so that their electric, gas, or other energy source service continues or is restored. The CMN Program shall facilitate assistance to critical medically vulnerable individuals and their households in obtaining State and federal financial assistance for their electric, gas, or other energy source bills through navigators. The Office shall determine qualifications and establish training requirements for navigators. The Office shall train navigators or facilitate the training of navigators by others. In accordance with the requirements set forth in the Code of Maryland Regulations, the Office shall work with electric and gas companies to implement, for critical medically vulnerable individuals: a medical hold on electric or gas service or an expedited process to grant the extension of electric or gas service for those who will have their electric or gas services terminated; and an expedited process for the restoration of electric or gas service for those who have had their electric or gas service terminated. If a critical medically vulnerable individual is at least 60 years old and assisted by a navigator when applying to participate in the CMN Program, the Office shall allow the individual 90 days after applying for assistance to provide certification from a medical provider of the severe health condition. The Office shall establish a tracking system of the status of critical medically vulnerable individuals who participate in the CMN Program. The Department shall adopt regulations to implement this section.

The Office shall develop a uniform redetermination process to assist eligible energy customers who are at least 60 years old in enrolling in energy assistance programs. The redetermination process developed under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be updated annually. The redetermination process shall require local administering agencies to: have an accessible location to receive eligible energy customers’ applications according to the Office’s contractual or program requirements; and establish a policy reflecting reasonable accommodations for applicants who are homebound or request accommodation, including by: arranging for a home visit; or allowing an individual to apply on the behalf of an eligible energy customer. The Office shall provide notice of the redetermination process to all eligible energy customers and include with the notice an addressed envelope with prepaid postage. In addition to the notice required under subsection (c) of this section, the Office shall: require yearly verification of status for each customer that qualifies for the redetermination process; allow an eligible energy customer 45 days to respond to a request for additional information; and maintain records organized by county, including records on the number of households during the previous year: that were eligible for redetermination; whose notice of the redetermination process was verified and returned; and that were reenrolled in the redetermination process. The Office may not require a new application for a current energy customer whose eligibility has not changed from the previous year. On or before December 1 each year, the Office shall report, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, to the General Assembly on the information collected under subsection (d)(3) of this section. The Department shall adopt regulations to implement this section.

This subtitle may be cited as the “Energy Assistance Program Act”.