Utility directory
Pick your Maryland utility
Every card opens the full profile: customer service, the 24/7 outage line, gas emergency (where applicable), service area and how the bill is built.
Investor-owned · IOU
Delmarva Power
Exelon subsidiary · since 1909
Maryland Eastern Shore (9 counties), Delaware, parts of VA
Exelon subsidiary, the only IOU on the Eastern Shore.
Investor-owned · IOU
Potomac Edison
FirstEnergy subsidiary
Western Maryland + WV Eastern Panhandle
Outage line 1-888-LIGHTSS is identical for MD and WV.
Cooperative · member-owned
Choptank Electric
Member-owned co-op · since 1938
All 9 Eastern Shore counties (rural areas)
Not-for-profit, members vote on the board.
Municipal · MLP
Hagerstown Light
HLD · city-owned
City of Hagerstown
Rates set by City Council, not the MD PSC.
Municipal · MLP
Williamsport MELS
Town-owned utility
Town limits of Williamsport
One number, day and night, for any issue.
Why your address matters
Three kinds of utility, three sets of rules
Maryland is one of the few states that runs the full set: investor-owned, cooperative and municipal utilities side by side. The model that serves your address decides whether you can shop your supply or not.
Investor-owned
BGE, Pepco, Delmarva, PE
Private regulated companies overseen by the MD Public Service Commission. They own the wires (delivery), procure the SOS default supply at auction and let you swap that supply for a competitive offer.
- Competitive supplier choice fully open.
- 24/7 outage and gas-emergency lines run by the IOU.
~2.4M MD meters in IOU territory.
Cooperative
Choptank, SMECO
Member-owned, not-for-profit utilities born under the 1936 Rural Electrification Act. You are not a customer, you are a member: surplus margin flows back to you as capital credits.
- Competitive supplier choice is allowed in MD co-op territory.
- Rates set by an elected board of members, not the PSC.
~225K MD member-accounts.
Municipal · MLP
Hagerstown, Williamsport
The town owns the wires and the supply. Rate-setting happens at the city council, not the PSC. Retail choice does not apply: the municipality is your only supplier inside city limits.
- No competitive supplier choice. Town is your supplier.
- Rates often below IOU level, set at cost by the local board.
~20K MD meters in MLP territory.
Save these
Every MD utility outage and gas line, one table
Always call your delivery utility for outages and gas emergencies, never your competitive supplier. The lines below include the three big utilities not yet on profile pages: BGE, Pepco and SMECO.
| Utility | Customer service | Power outage 24/7 | Gas emergency 24/7 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Delmarva Power
IOU · Maryland Eastern Shore (9 counties), Delaware, parts of VA |
1-800-375-7117 | 1-800-898-8042 | 302-454-0317 |
|
Potomac Edison
IOU · Western Maryland + WV Eastern Panhandle |
1-800-686-0011 | 1-888-544-4877 | No gas service |
|
Choptank Electric
COOP · All 9 Eastern Shore counties (rural areas) |
1-877-892-0001 | 1-800-410-4790 | No gas service |
|
Hagerstown Light
MLP · City of Hagerstown |
(301) 790-4160 | (301) 790-2600 | No gas service |
|
Williamsport MELS
MLP · Town limits of Williamsport |
(301) 223-7711 | (301) 223-7711 | No gas service |
|
BGE
Baltimore Gas & Electric · Baltimore & central Maryland |
1-800-685-0123 | 1-877-778-2222 | 1-877-778-7798 |
|
Pepco
Potomac Electric Power Co. · Montgomery & Prince George's counties |
1-202-833-7500 | 1-877-737-2662 | Electric only |
|
SMECO
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative · Charles, Calvert, St. Mary's, P. George's |
1-888-440-3311 | 1-877-747-6326 | Electric only |
BGE, Pepco and SMECO are not yet profiled on CallMePower. See the Maryland hub for context on each.
CallMePower explains
What your utility actually charges for
Every MD electric bill has two halves. Your utility owns one, the market owns the other.
Supply (you can shop this)
The cost of the kilowatt-hours you actually use, billed in ¢/kWh.
- · Standard Offer Service (SOS) from your utility if you do nothing. Reset every 6 months for residential customers.
- · Competitive supplier if you shop. Same kWh, different price line on the same bill.
- · Co-op generation if you are with Choptank or SMECO and stay on the default supply.
Delivery (utility-only)
The cost of moving electricity through the utility's wires and meters. Cannot be shopped.
- · Customer charge, a fixed monthly fee. Paid even if you use zero kWh.
- · Distribution, the ¢/kWh wires charge for moving power locally.
- · Transmission, EmPOWER, RPS adders, small per-kWh charges set by the MD PSC.
Quick answers
Common questions households ask before calling.
Look at the top of your last bill. If you do not have one yet, the answer is set by your address. BGE covers Baltimore and central MD. Pepco covers the DC suburbs. Delmarva Power serves the Eastern Shore. Potomac Edison serves western MD. Choptank Electric is the Eastern Shore co-op, SMECO covers Southern MD, and a handful of towns (Hagerstown, Williamsport, Berlin, Easton, Thurmont) run their own utility.
An Investor-Owned Utility (IOU) is a private regulated company, like Delmarva, BGE or Potomac Edison. A Cooperative is a member-owned non-profit (Choptank, SMECO); members elect the board and share any margin as capital credits. A Municipal Light Plant (MLP) is owned by the town itself (Hagerstown, Williamsport). In IOU and co-op territory you can shop your supply; in MLP territory you cannot.
No. The delivery utility is set by where you live, you cannot change it. You can, however, switch the supply portion of your bill to a competitive supplier (in IOU and co-op territory). The wires, the meter and the outage line stay the same.
Always your delivery utility, 24/7. Delmarva: 1-800-898-8042. Potomac Edison: 1-888-544-4877. Choptank: 1-800-410-4790. Hagerstown Light: (301) 790-2600. Williamsport MELS: (301) 223-7711. BGE: 1-877-778-2222. Pepco: 1-877-737-2662.
Leave the building first, then call the gas emergency line from outside. In Maryland the two main gas utilities are BGE at 1-877-778-7798 and Delmarva Power at 302-454-0317. Service at the meter is free.
Investor-owned utilities are regulated by the Maryland Public Service Commission, which approves delivery rates and the SOS auction. Cooperatives like Choptank and SMECO are governed by their elected member boards (the MD PSC has only limited rate-setting authority over them). Municipal Light Plants answer to their city council or board, not the PSC.
Keep exploring MD energy
More U.S. states with energy choice
Same playbook, different utility. Pick another deregulated state to compare utilities, suppliers and switching rules.
