Climate Policy for Maryland’s Gas Utilities: Financial Implications
This OPC report, prepared by the consulting firm Synapse Energy Economics, considers the financial impacts on gas utilities and customers of a gradual shift toward high levels of electrification. Customers already are switching to electricity from gas but the trend will accelerate as Maryland implements its greenhouse gas reduction goals. The report models the progress of Maryland’s electrification and projects greenhouse gas emissions and trends in gas consumption, space heating type and equipment sales. It then uses the projections to analyze the financial implications of Maryland’s climate goals for gas utilities in the State through 2050.
Topics covered in the report include:
The current progress of electrification in Maryland and how that impacts gas rates
The viability of alternatives to fossil gas
Gas customer impacts from declining gas use
The new report complements OPC’s October 2022 report, Maryland Gas Utility Spending: Projections and Analysis, which provides detailed information on utility gas infrastructure spending, plans, and projections.
To download a summary of key findings, click here.
To learn more about the STRIDE gas replacement infrastructure program, including its connection to gas pipe safety, click here
For information about how the price of gas may affect your gas bill this winter, click here.
To read David S. Lapp's op-ed in Maryland Matters, click here.