ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Maryland Freedom Caucus is calling on Governor Wes Moore, Speaker Adrienne Jones, and Senate President Bill Ferguson to use legislative and executive powers to deliver immediate relief to Marylanders suffering under sky-high gas and electric bills.
In a letter to the Governor and Presiding Officers, The Maryland Freedom Caucus calls for an immediate halt on the EmPOWER fee on gas and electric bills. “By stopping the EmPOWER fee, we can save residents between $12 to more than $100 on their next utility bill,” said Maryland Freedom Caucus Chairman Matt Morgan. “This is real savings for our seniors on a fixed income and struggling families.”
In January alone, BGE ratepayers were hit with a staggering $36.5 million in EmPOWER fees—an outrageous and unsustainable tax draining every Maryland resident and business. This fee goes into a fund to give away free electric heatpumps and stoves to other people.
The letter, signed by the seven-member Maryland Freedom Caucus, urged a pause to all other state-imposed taxes and fees on energy bills through executive order or emergency legislation. “In 2022, the legislature paused the tax on gasoline to help with high costs, this energy crisis is even more severe,” stated Delegate Kathy Szeliga, Vice
Chair of the caucus. “People are having to choose between food, prescriptions, or heat because gas and electric bills are double or even triple what they used to be.”
The Maryland State Freedom Caucus also laid out their 4-Point Plan to bring relief to energy costs immediately, more savings this summer, and energy costs long term, too.
The Maryland Freedom Caucus’ 4-Point Plan:
- Keep Power Plants Open and Reopen Others
- Halt EmPOWER fees immediately
- Repeal or Reform the Climate Solutions Act Now (2022) by passing HB1451 this session
- Stop the $180 Proposed Increase for the Climate Pollution Reduction Plan in Governor Moore’s Budget