The bill streamlines and speeds up the permitting and inspection process for residents installing solar panels; doubles the state’s net metering program, which credits those solar producers for the they generate, from 3 gigawatts to 6 gigawatts, and allows so-called “balcony” panels, portable devices that can be plugged-in rather than installed and thus available to renters and those not looking for a full commitment.

BALTIMORE, MD: As the unaffordability crisis deepens across the US, poor and working-class residents are struggling to pay for rent and food along with exorbitant monthly utility bills charged by gas and electric monopolies that control local power grids. In Baltimore, MD, local residents’ inability to pay skyrocketing utility bills from energy giant Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) has sparked a grassroots “public power” campaign to establish a publicly owned energy alternative. In this on-the-ground report, TRNN takes you to the front lines of a Dec. 20 public power rally held in downtown Baltimore…

Energy assistance programs are available through OHEP (once a fiscal year, larger grants available once every five years). The Fuel Fund of Maryland gives grants too, if you have an active turn-off notice (all turn-offs are canceled through February 28).

Also, BGE is planning to lay off union employees, relying on more expensive contractors.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/52231742