Eligible Marylanders will start seeing increased energy assistance benefits, Gov. Wes Moore announced on Thursday.

The energy assistance program, through the Maryland Department of Human Services Office of Home Energy Programs, will assist families as energy rates continue to increase.

Gov. Moore says the assistance program is in response to residents saying these rates are getting out of hand.

"At a time when the federal government is passing dangerous, heartless legislation to cut assistance for working families, we are standing in the breach," Gov. Moore said. "Not a day goes by without me hearing from Marylanders calling for support tackling the rising cost of energy we see nationwide. Today, we extend a hand to them as a critical part of our work to make Maryland more affordable. We will not waver in our work to protect our people and leave no one behind."

Who is eligible and how to apply

A household receiving between $130 and $575 in electric benefits last year will now receive between $250 and $1,000, and a household receiving between $150 and $301 in gas benefits last year will now receive between $300 and $550 in Fiscal Year 2026, the governor's office said. 

Residents that are already receiving the following benefits are automatically eligible: 

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI);

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); and

• Income-Based Veterans Affairs Benefits.

New applications for energy assistance are now available. Marylanders who are not automatically eligible are invited to apply at . 

"With rising temperatures and soaring energy costs, too many Marylanders are worried about keeping their homes safe and liveable year-round," said Maryland Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael López. "We will do all we can to step up and support families who must choose between buying groceries and paying their electricity bills."

Push to stop BGE's multi-year rate hike

On Thursday, Baltimore City leaders pushed Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) to end its multi-year rate hikes and pipeline program.

Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen joined labor union leaders and advocates to deliver petitions to the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) and BGE.

BGE raised its rates on January 1, 2025, increasing the average residential gas bill by 9% and the electric bill by 7%. During the winter, Maryland households reported some of their highest gas bills ever.

BGE's Operation Pipeline program aims to upgrade hundreds of miles of natural gas pipes and equipment across Maryland by replacing cast iron and bare steel pipes with new, more durable materials. 

The company argued that the rising bills are due to weather, demand, and state fees, not the company's rate plan. 

BGE Spokesperson Nick Alexopoulos said, "Getting rid of the multi-year plan process does not provide rate relief. We still need to make those investments in the system for our customers and for our communities."

Cohen said 7,221 Baltimore residents signed the postcard petitions calling for a stop to the plan. 

"This is what it looks like when thousands of Baltimoreans lift their voices up together to say enough is enough," Cohen said Thursday, while holding a bag of the petitions. 

BGE would not take petitions

As Cohen tried to deliver the petitions to BGE, a representative for the company said they would not take them and instead called out Cohen for refusing to meet with the company's president. 

"You actually had an opportunity this week to pass them directly to Tamla had you taken her meeting, so we were disappointed you refused to meet with her face-to-face to have this type of conversation," the company representative said during the exchange. "These, we can't accept for security purposes; these do have to be mailed in."

Cohen said he did not want to meet with CEO Tamla Olivier unless BGE came with a plan to support residents. 

"It is about them making a decision to come with rate relief," Cohen said.