If a residential member would like share their credit from the Legislative Energy Relief Refund to other SMECO members who may be struggling to pay their bills, they can make a one-time donation to the cooperative’s Members Helping Members program. Donations to Members Helping Members go to Southern Maryland Tri-County Community Action Committee, which will give the money to SMECO members who seek aid and meet the qualifications.
One-time donations can be made by sending a check to SMECO, Members Helping Members, P.O. Box 1937, Hughesville, MD 20637. Refund donations cannot be made automatically.
Interested SMECO members can also sign up online at smeco.coop/mhm to add $1, $5, or $10 to their electric bill each month.
Utility bills are higher when energy use is higher. Summer and winter, when temperatures are more extreme, tend to have the highest bills. The Maryland General Assembly wants to reduce the impact of high utility bills by providing relief when bills are at their highest.
Funds for the Legislative Energy Relief Refund are being distributed from compliance fees collected from electric utilities in Maryland.
Maryland’s renewable energy standards, outlined in the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), require electricity suppliers to obtain an increasing share of their energy from renewable sources each year. In 2025, suppliers must meet a 33% renewable energy target, with goals rising to 50% by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2040. Qualifying sources include solar, wind, small-scale hydroelectric, geothermal, certain forms of biomass, and methane captured from landfills or wastewater treatment. The standards also include a solar carve-out—5.5% of total energy sales in 2025 must come specifically from solar power. Utilities that do not meet these requirements must pay alternative compliance fees, which are directed into the state’s Strategic Energy Investment Fund.
This fund is the source of the $200 million used for the Legislative Energy Relief Refund, a one-time credit authorized by the Maryland General Assembly through the 2025 Next Generation Energy Act.
All eligible residential members will see a credit on their bill in January 2026. You can see your refund amount on page two of your bill under the listing Legislative Energy Relief.
SMECO members who have an active residential electric account as of December 1, 2025, and had a positive kWh balance for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2025, will automatically receive a bill credit of at least $40 in their January bill.
SMECO’s credit tiers for the Legislative Energy Relief Refund are based on each member’s average monthly electricity usage between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025. Members are grouped into seven tiers according to their typical energy consumption, with higher-usage members receiving larger credits and lower-usage members receiving smaller, but still meaningful, credits. This tiered system ensures the refund is distributed fairly and aligns with each member’s actual energy use.
