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PSC Sets New Expiration Dates, Renewal Deadlines For Retail Supplier & Broker Licenses, Addresses Other Questions
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Note: The information in this story reflects materials publicly posted by the Maryland PSC as of 5:20 pm ET, Jan. 31, 2025
The Maryland PSC has established new renewal application deadlines and expiration dates for an initial set of retail energy supplier and broker licenses
Note: for brevity, all references in this story to a "supplier" includes brokers, marketers, and aggregators, even where not specifically stated
SB1 required the PSC to set expiration dates for all existing residential retail supplier and broker licenses, with the PSC authorized to stagger the expirations over 3 years. Renewals (and new supplier licenses) will last for only 3 years
As previously reported, the PSC initially set January 15, 2025 as the date for an initial one-third of all existing retail suppliers and brokers to submit applications for renewal of their licenses. The PSC subsequently suspended the Jan. 15 deadline pending further order
The PSC has now set new renewal application deadlines and license expiration dates for this initial one-third of suppliers
However, the PSC's new direction isn't clear
The PSC did not issue a new list with each relevant supplier listed and such supplier's deadline and expiration date
Rather, the PSC in a letter order generically sets new deadlines and expiration dates for "four" groups of suppliers from the previously issued initial one-third of suppliers
However, the initial list of one-third of suppliers subject to license expiration actually had five groups of suppliers, with each group having its license expiration set as a different group date. The five group dates were: February 28, 2025; March 31, 2025; April 30, 2025; May 31, 2025; and June 30, 2025
It's not explicit how the PSC is now grouping the suppliers into four groups, and which groups (if any) from the original five groups have been merged into four groups
The PSC did say that it was only adjusting the expiration date for the "first" group of retail suppliers, with no other expiration dates changed. This, along with the specific dates of the new expiration dates, suggests (but is not explicit) that the first two groups of suppliers, who had their expiration dates originally set as February 28, 2025 & March 31, 2025, respectively, are now combined into a single group with an expiration date of April 15, 2025
Under this interpretation, any supplier who originally had an expiration date later than March 31, 2025 has not had their expiration date changed, though, as noted below, their renewal deadline has been changed
The original expiration dates from the PSC's Dec. 17, 2024 order can be found here, which shows the one-third of suppliers that are subject to license expiration, and the original five groups of expiration dates (February 28, 2025; March 31, 2025; April 30, 2025; May 31, 2025; and June 30, 2025) for these suppliers
The PSC stated in a letter order issued today, "The license expiration dates of the residential retail suppliers listed in Attachment A to the Notice shall be April 15, 2025 for the first group of suppliers, April 30, 2025 for the second group, May 31, 2025 for the third group, and June 30, 2025 for the fourth group."
Generally, application renewals would be due about 30 days prior to license expiration
Specifically, the PSC established the following renewal application deadlines and license expiration dates
Retail suppliers had sought clarification regarding whether suppliers which serve only non-residential customers are subject to license revocation and a renewal application deadline, given that SB1's provision on license expiration specifically addressed licenses to serve residential customers
In a Jan. 31 letter order, the PSC did not squarely address this question
Rather, in setting new license expiration dates, the PSC, as noted above, provided that, "The license expiration dates of the residential retail suppliers listed in Attachment A to the Notice shall be April 15, 2025 for the first group of suppliers, April 30, 2025 for the second group, May 31, 2025 for the third group, and June 30, 2025 for the fourth group." [emphasis added]
The referenced Attachment A is the Attachment A from the PSC's original Dec. 17, 2024 order on license expiration. It appears that at least one entity on such Attachment is not licensed to serve residential customers, but was included in the attachment. It does not appear that the Dec. 17 Attachment A was specifically intended to only reflect residential suppliers
While the PSC, as noted above, makes reference to the "residential" retail suppliers listed in Attachment A in setting new deadlines, the PSC did not unequivocally clarify that non-residential suppliers are not subject to the license expiration and renewal requirement
The PSC did clarify that a $1,000 renewal application fee applies to each license, and a supplier seeking renewal of both electric and gas licenses will need to pay $1,000 for each application ($2,000 total).
Additionally, the PSC affirmed that electric and gas licenses are separate, and suppliers seeking to continue to provide both commodities must file a separate renewal application for each commodity (two applications total)
The PSC also affirmed that, under the Annotated Code of Maryland, the definitions of electricity suppliers and gas suppliers, respectively, "include brokers and marketers," and therefore both brokers and marketers are subject to the license expiration and renewal requirement.
Although not specifically cited in the PSC's order, the Annotated Code of Maryland also defines an "electricity [or gas] supplier" as also including an aggregator
Per Public Utilities Article § 1-101, "electricity supplier" includes an electric company, an
aggregator, a broker, and a marketer of electricity
Per Public Utilities Article § 1-101, a "gas supplier" includes, in addition to a company which sells gas or gas supply services, "an aggregator, a broker, and a marketer of gas."
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January 30, 2025
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Copyright 2025 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
Renewal Filing License Expiration
Deadline Date
March 15, 2025 → → → April 15, 2025
March 31, 2025 → → → April 30, 2025
May 1, 2025 → → → May 31, 2025
May 30, 2025 → → → June 30, 2025
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