A state-mandated geothermal energy program sponsored by Del. Lorig Charkoudian, who represents Potomac's District 16, is stuck in limbo after Maryland regulators rejected utility proposals as too expensive for ratepayers.
The Maryland Public Service Commission ruled in December 2025 that pilot plans submitted by Baltimore Gas & Electric and Washington Gas were "not only exorbitant, but also speculative and therefore carry the possibility of increasing even more." The commission is now hiring a consultant to help both utilities bring costs down before they resubmit.
In the seven months since that ruling, no revised proposals have been filed. PSC spokesperson Kathy Fueston told Maryland Matters on Tuesday that officials are "in the final stages" of finalizing a contract with the consultant.
What the WARMTH Act requires
Charkoudian's 2024 law, the WARMTH Act (House Bill 397), requires gas companies serving at least 75,000 customers to propose geothermal pilot programs. The systems use underground pipes filled with a water-based solution to harness subsurface temperatures for heating and cooling, replacing natural gas. Costs would be shared across all utility customers, subject to PSC approval.
Washington Gas proposed a $40 million to $50 million project at Northwest Park Apartments near Silver Spring, a collection of small brick apartment buildings. Under that plan, non-participating Washington Gas customers would see a $5 to $8 monthly bill increase. Residents of the complex would pay $12.50 per month for geothermal service; nearby single-family homeowners would pay $30.
BGE proposed two projects totaling $97.6 million: one in Columbia ($54.1 million) and one in Baltimore ($43.5 million). The Maryland Office of People's Counsel, which represents ratepayers, called BGE's spending "unreasonable and unjustified" and recommended a $30 million cap on par with a comparable Massachusetts project.
Why the PSC said no
In its December 2025 order, the commission wrote: "At a time when affordability is on the minds of every ratepayer in Maryland, the Commission cannot in good conscience approve pilot programs that are so costly."
The Potomac connection
Charkoudian, vice chair of the House Economic Matters Committee, told Maryland Matters she believes costs can come down and that it is urgent to make the program happen at a lower price than utilities proposed. She suggested utilities may be "overbuilding" their proposals and pointed to a potential cost-saving option: tapping into a geothermal system already operating at a school neighboring Northwest Park Apartments. In a December 2025 PSC filing, Washington Gas said it was "actively evaluating a range of potential modifications," including working with the school system.
Residents push back on delays
More than 100 Northwest Park residents filed a letter with the PSC in July 2026 urging the commission to hire the consultant and move forward. Tenant volunteer Carolina Morales, a 12-year resident of the complex, told Maryland Matters: "I feel a bit of frustration. I think all of us feel the same, because we've worked really hard for this project to come about."
Another volunteer, Lilian Chavarria, who has lived at Northwest Park for 18 years, spends her afternoons conducting nitrogen dioxide tests around the complex and meeting with Washington Gas about the project. Chavarria told Maryland Matters she feels the urgency acutely: the apartments sit about two miles from Flower Branch Apartments, where a building explosion in August 2016 killed seven people.
