The conservation requirements were adopted by the General Assembly last year amid rising energy demands that threatened to lead to rolling blackouts. The economic recession has reduced energy consumption, Nazarian said, but over time officials expect Maryland to struggle with rising consumer demand unless a "structural" reduction in consumption is achieved.
Johanna Neumann, state director for the Maryland Public Interest Research Group, a consumer and environmental advocacy organization, applauded yesterday's actions but cautioned that the programs needed to be "administered correctly."
In 2007, Allegheny Power sent unsolicited lightbulbs to Western Maryland customers and then charged their bills for the energy-saving bulbs under a PSC-approved plan. Consumers were outraged, and last year Annapolis politicians demanded that the utility refund its customers, which Allegheny pledged to do.
