Title 20 — Subtitle 62. Community Solar Energy Generation Systems

In this subtitle the following terms have the meanings indicated.

Terms Defined.

An electric company shall file a plan and relevant tariffs with an effective date no later than July 1, 2025 for compliance with this subtitle within 45 days after the effective date of revised program regulations adopted by the Commission under Public Utilities Article, §7-306.2(f), Annotated Code of Maryland.

A municipal electric company or electric cooperative electing to participate in the Program shall file a plan and related tariffs for compliance with this subtitle within 45 days after notifying the Commission of that election.

A CSEGS waitlisted by an electric company under the Pilot Program shall receive a queue position under the Program when the following occurs:

For all projects waitlisted under the Pilot Program, an electric company shall establish the Program’s queue in the order of the date and time of each project’s application to the electric company under the Pilot Program regardless of Pilot Program category.

A CSEGS with capacity on the Pilot Program queue shall retain the Pilot Program queue position when the tariffs submitted under §A of this regulation become effective.

A CSEGS is considered to have been constructed under the Pilot Program if it received capacity in the Pilot Program and was constructed within the deadlines required under the Pilot Program or as extended by letter order.

Each electric company shall establish a program to accept and administer community solar energy generating system projects from the earlier of:

An electric company operating a CSEGS program shall continue to operate the program subject to Public Utilities Article, §7-306.2 or an applicable Commission order.

An electric company shall apply bill credits and virtual net excess generation to a subscriber’s bill in accordance with applicable tariffs.

An electric company shall pay subscriber organizations for unsubscribed energy in accordance with applicable tariffs.

An electric company shall maintain program data and records as directed by the Commission.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may subscribe as many accounts as needed to match each CSEGS’s capacity.

An electric company may require a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator to maintain a minimum average subscription size of 2 kW per customer for an individual CSEGS during the Program.

Subscriber List.

An electric company shall determine the amount of kilowatt hours to be credited to each subscriber by multiplying the subscriber’s most recent generation proportion from §A of this regulation by the output of the community solar energy generating system as measured by the electric company’s meter.

Application of Subscription Credits.

If the electric company chooses to apply the credit from §C of this regulation as a dollar amount, the electric company shall apply a credit no less than the value to the subscriber of the credit had it been applied to the subscriber’s bill as a reduction in metered kilowatt hours.

An electric company shall retain a record of a project’s kilowatt hours applied to each subscriber’s account for a period of 7 years.

Electronic Portal.

Electric Company Credit Allocation Reporting.

A subscriber may not subscribe for an amount of energy that exceeds 200 percent of the value of the subscriber’s baseline annual usage including all subscriptions and any net metered generation.

Multiple Subscriptions.

A subscriber may participate in net metering as described in Public Utilities Article, §7-306, Annotated Code of Maryland, such that the total of all net-metered generation and subscribed energy does not exceed 200 percent of the value of the subscriber’s baseline annual usage.

A subscriber shall:

The requirements of §B of this regulation apply only to a subscriber that has elected to accrue virtual net excess generation for a period not to exceed 12 months.

An electric company shall receive full and timely cost recovery of Program credit costs.

An electric company may not establish a separate surcharge, fee, or rate for recovery of any program costs, including credit and administrative costs.

An electric company may include Program credit costs in existing rate adjustments for distribution rates or as a revenue or cost component for transmission or commodity rates as accepted by the Commission.

Electric company tariffs requiring payments or credits from an electric company to subscribers in effect during the Program or Pilot Program shall remain in effect for subscribers until the final community solar energy generating system in the service territory of the electric company is decommissioned.

An electric company shall continue to facilitate the operation of a subscriber organization that was granted a queue position by the electric company during the Pilot Program or Program or constructed during the Pilot Program or Program until the final community solar energy generating system associated with the subscriber organization or is decommissioned.

A subscriber organization may continue to operate a community solar energy generating system that was granted a queue position by the electric company during the Pilot Program or Program or constructed during the Pilot Program or Program until the community solar energy generating system is decommissioned.

A subscriber organization may create, exchange, and trade subscriptions up to the full project capacity for a community solar energy generating system that was granted a queue position by the electric company during the Pilot Program or Program or constructed during the Pilot Program or Program until the community solar energy generating system is decommissioned.

The Commission may establish standards for billing accuracy to apply to subscriber credits and billing revenue.

The Commission may direct an electric company to develop additional automated billing and crediting features in order to improve billing accuracy for the Program.

CSEGS Location.

All rate classes are eligible to subscribe to a community solar energy generating system.

Subscribers served by retail electricity suppliers and subscribers served by Standard Offer Service may subscribe to the same community solar energy generating system.

A subscriber organization and a subscription coordinator shall apply with the Commission for admission to the Program on forms authorized by the Commission.

The Commission shall assign each successful applicant a CSEGS identification number.

An electric company that participates as a subscriber organization may not recover CSEGS project costs through base distribution rates.

A subscriber organization shall provide, on forms authorized by the Commission, the following data upon application to the Program.

An applicant that has been granted admission to the Program by the Commission that wishes to construct and operate a community solar energy generating system under this Program shall apply to the electric company serving the location of the system.

Project Application Procedure.

An electric company shall assign each project an identification number unique to the electric company’s service territory for the purpose of identification.

Low and Moderate Income Verification.

Electric Company Application Process.

Queue Order.

Operational Deadline.

Project Website Information. An electric company shall provide a list of information on its website about the current status of its program queue, including the following information:

Except as provided in §F of this regulation, an electric company shall update the list under §D of this regulation no less than once per week.

An electric company is not required to update the list under §D of this regulation if there was no change to the information on the list in the immediately preceding week.

An electric company that operates as a subscriber organization shall apply to the Commission for permission to enter each of its own projects into the electric company’s program queue.

All subscriber organizations, subscription coordinators, and utilities shall use the uniform electronic transaction processes approved by the Commission.

Community Solar Program Data Collection.

Subscribers are not customer-generators under Public Utilities Article, §7-306(g)(5), Annotated Code of Maryland.

Subscriber organizations shall own and have title to all renewable energy attributes or renewable credits associated with community energy generating facilities for which they are authorized by the Commission to participate in the Program.

Except as provided in §B of this regulation, a community solar energy generating system may not be located on the same or an adjacent parcel of land as an existing or proposed community solar energy generating system if the total installed capacity of all community solar energy generating systems on the same or adjacent parcel would exceed 5 megawatts.

The prohibition under §A of this regulation does not apply to projects constructed:

A subscription coordinator shall apply with the Commission and obtain a Commission approval number before performing the functions of a subscription coordinator.

A subscription coordinator shall notify the Commission of any CSEGS projects for which the coordinator is or plans on performing any functions of a subscription coordinator.

The Commission shall make the list of subscription coordinators for which application has been made under §A of this regulation publicly available on the Commission’s website or other website approved by the Commission.

A subscription coordinator operating solely as an authorized subscriber organization under the Pilot Program shall apply to the Commission to convert its authorization to a subscription coordinator within 180 days of the start of the Program.

An electric company shall make reasonable attempts to assist Program applicants with identifying means to locate and operate community energy generation facilities in a manner that minimizes adverse effects or maximizes distribution system benefits at locations identified by applicants.

Project Information.

An electric company shall monitor and review its distribution system to determine any adverse or beneficial effects resulting from each installed community solar energy generating system.

An electric company shall maintain the following customer information for each project operating under the Program:

Commission Staff shall report annually on electric companies’ billing accuracy, interconnection complaints, and consumer complaints related to the program.

A subscriber organization shall maintain the following information for each project operating under the Program:

A subscriber organization shall provide the information in §A of this regulation to the Commission upon request.

A subscriber organization shall provide to the Commission, in a timely manner, information requested by the Commission concerning the operation of a community solar energy generating system.

This chapter applies to transactions between CSEGS subscriber organizations, subscription coordinators, or their respective agents and customers that are subscribing to a community solar energy generation system under the Program.

A customer may grant authority to a subscription coordinator to act on the customer's behalf in any process required by this chapter.

A subscription coordinator shall disclose to a subscriber its relationship with any person with whom the subscription coordinator executes a contract on behalf of a customer.

A contract between a subscription coordinator and a customer is subject to the Commission's regulatory jurisdiction under this subtitle and COMAR 20.32.

Regulations .08, .09, .14, .16, .17, .18, and .20 of this chapter do not apply to nonresidential customers.

No person shall subscribe a customer to a community solar energy generation system without the customer’s consent.

A subscriber organization may not add a new charge for a new service, existing service, or service option without first obtaining consent from the customer, verifiable to the same extent and using the same methods specified under Regulation .08 of this chapter.

Advertising Permitted.

Marketing Disclosures.

Internet Advertising. If a subscriber organization, a subscription coordinator, or their agent maintains a website, the subscriber organization, the subscription coordinator, or their agent shall post on the Internet readily understandable information about its services, prices, and any other mandated disclosures.

Telephone Solicitation.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may market services on a geographic basis.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator is not required to offer services throughout an electric company’s entire service territory.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may not refuse to provide service to a customer based on the economic character of a geographic area or the collective credit reputation of the area.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may not discriminate against any customer, based wholly or partly, on race, color, creed, national origin, or gender of an applicant for service or for any arbitrary, capricious, or unfairly discriminatory reason.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may not refuse to provide service to a customer except by the application of standards that are reasonably related to the subscriber organization’s economic and business purposes.

Contract Summary.

Notice of Subscription.

Minimum Contract Requirements.

Methods of Contracting.

Evergreen Contracts.

A CSEGS Subscription may be transferred or assigned to a CSEGS subscriber organization or to any person or entity who qualifies to be a subscriber in the CSEGS.

A CSEGS subscriber who desires to transfer or assign all or part of his subscription to the CSEGS subscriber organization, in its own name, or to become unsubscribed shall notify the CSEGS subscriber organization and the transfer of the subscription to the CSEGS subscriber organization shall be effective upon such notification, unless the CSEGS subscriber specifies a later effective date.

A CSEGS subscriber who desires to transfer or assign all or part of his subscription to another eligible customer desiring to purchase a subscription may do so only in compliance with the terms and conditions of the subscription and will be effective in accordance therewith.

The CSEGS subscriber organization and the electric company shall jointly verify that each CSEGS subscriber is eligible to be a subscriber in the CSEGS under Public Utilities Article, §7-306.2, Annotated Code of Maryland. Changes in the subscriber rolls of the CSEGS, including the effective date of changes, shall be communicated by the CSEGS subscriber organization to the electric company, in written or electronic form, as soon as practicable but no less than 30 days.

Prices paid for subscriptions in a CSEGS may not be subject to regulation by the Commission.

A subscriber that moves to a premise located within the service territory served by the CSEGS may change the premises to which the CSEGS electricity generation shall be attributed to the new premise, and a subscriber organization may not charge an unreasonable transfer fee to such a customer.

Except as provided in COMAR 20.62.04 and §B of this regulation, a subscriber organization may not disclose energy usage or personally identifiable information about a subscriber, or a subscriber’s billing, payment, and credit information, without the subscriber’s consent.

A subscriber organization may disclose a subscriber’s billing, payment, and credit information for the sole purpose of facilitating billing, bill collection, and credit reporting.

A subscriber organization shall provide a customer with a copy of the subscriber organization’s customer information privacy policy.

A subscriber organization shall treat information received from prospective customers, including those who do not subscribe, in accordance with §§A and C of this regulation.

A CSEGS subscriber organization shall provide the customer with notice at least 30 days before expiration or cancellation of a subscription contract.

Contents of Notice. The subscriber organization’s expiration or cancellation notice required under §A of this regulation shall include:

Early Cancellation.

At least 30 days prior to the effective date of any assignment or transfer of a subscription contract from one subscriber organization to another, the subscriber organizations shall jointly provide written notice of the assignment or transfer to the customers of the subscriber organization, the Commission, the electric company, and the Office of People’s Counsel.

Upon request by the Commission, the assignee shall be responsible for providing documents and records related to the assigned contracts. Records shall be maintained for a period of 3 years or until the contracts are expired, whichever is longer.

A customer alleging a violation of this subtitle may file a dispute with the Commission’s Consumer Affairs Division.

Upon proof of the allegations, the customer’s remedy through the Consumer Affairs Division is limited to a refund of any overcharge and any fees or penalties paid by the customer as a result of the unauthorized subscription or other violation.

This subtitle does not limit:

A subscriber organization may use an agent or subscription coordinator to conduct marketing or sales activities.

A subscriber organization is responsible for any fraudulent, deceptive, or other unlawful marketing performed by its agent or subscription coordinator while marketing or selling subscriptions on behalf of the subscriber organization.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall develop standards and qualifications for individuals it chooses to hire as its agents. A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may not hire an individual that fails to meet its standards.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may not permit a person to conduct door-to-door activities until it has obtained and reviewed a criminal history record in the same manner as provided in COMAR 20.53.08.

When a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator contracts with an independent contractor or vendor to perform door-to-door activities, the subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall document that the contractor or vendor has performed criminal background investigations on an agent in accordance with this regulation and with the standards set by the subscriber organization or subscription coordinator. A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may satisfy this requirement by obtaining from the independent contractor or vendor a written statement affirming that the criminal background check was performed by them or under their supervision in accordance with this regulation and with standards set by the subscriber organization or subscription coordinator and presented in writing.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall periodically audit whether the background checks completed by its independent contractor or vendor have been completed in accordance with this regulation.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall ensure the training of its agents on the following subjects:

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall document the training of an agent and maintain a record of the training for 3 years from the date the training was completed.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall make training materials and training records available to the Commission and the Office of People’s Counsel upon request. Any such material shall be treated as confidential.

When a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator contracts with an independent contractor to perform marketing or sales activities on the subscriber organization’s or subscription coordinator’s behalf, the subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall confirm that the contractor or vendor has provided subscriber organization-approved training to agents and independent contractors in accordance with this section.

The subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall monitor telephonic and door-to-door marketing and sales calls to:

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall issue an identification badge to agents to be worn and prominently displayed when conducting door-to-door activities or appearing at public events on behalf of a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator. The badge shall:

Upon first contact with a customer, an agent shall:

When conducting door-to-door activities or appearing at a public event, an agent may not wear apparel or accessories or carry equipment that contains branding elements, including a logo that suggests a relationship that does not exist with a utility, government agency, or another subscriber organization or subscription coordinator.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator may not use the name, bills, marketing materials, or consumer education materials of another.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator agent may not say or suggest to a customer that a utility customer is required to choose a CSEGS subscriber organization.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator and its agents shall comply with the Maryland Door-to-Door Sales Act, local government ordinances regarding door-to-door marketing and sales activities, and any other applicable consumer protection law.

A subscriber organization’s or subscription coordinator’s agent shall:

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall establish a policy that requires an agent to terminate contact with a customer if the customer is incapable of understanding and responding to the information being conveyed by the agent.

When an agent completes a transaction with a customer, the agent shall provide a copy of each document that the customer signed or initialed relating to the transaction. A copy of these documents shall be provided to the customer before the agent and the customer leave each other’s presence.

An agent shall immediately leave a residence when requested to do so by a customer or the owner or an occupant of the premises, or if the customer does not express an interest in what the agent is attempting to sell.

When a subscriber organization or subscription coordinator engages in door-to-door activity, the subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall notify CAD no later than the morning of the day that the activity begins. The notification shall include general, nonproprietary information about the activity, the period involved, and a general description of the geographical area.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall provide the utility with general, nonproprietary information about the door-to-door activity that caused the subscriber organization or subscription coordinator to provide notice to the Commission. The subscriber organization or subscription coordinator shall provide this general information to the utility no later than the morning of the day that the sales and marketing activities begin. The utility shall use this information only for acquainting its customer service representatives with sales and marketing activity occurring in its service territory so that they may address customer inquiries knowledgably. A utility may not use the information for other purposes.

In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

Terms Defined.

An electric company subject to this subtitle shall file a tariff with the Commission to implement consolidated billing for the program.

An electric company shall implement consolidated billing as required by this chapter no later than January 1, 2026.

A subscriber organization or subscription coordinator associated with a CSEGS may elect to participate in consolidated billing for the following:

Savings Rate.

Application of the Net Bill Credit.

Remittance of Subscription Charges.

Net Credit Billing Reporting.

Consolidated Billing Error Reporting.