BGE Community Solar: What It Is, How Credits Work, and How to Sign Up

Yes, BGE customers can get community solar, and it's a real program overseen by the Maryland Public Service Commission. You subscribe to a share of a solar farm in BGE's Maryland territory, the farm's output shows up as credits on your BGE bill, and you pay the project a subscription charge that's typically less than those credits.

Nothing goes on your roof. BGE still delivers your power and still sends your bill. If you're reading this because a line on your statement looked unfamiliar, or someone pitched you on it and you want to know if it's legit, start with the next section.

See what your BGE account qualifies for →

What is the "Community Solar Adjustment" on my BGE bill?

If you're subscribed to a community solar farm, your BGE bill may show the credit on a line labeled something like "Community Solar Adjustment." The exact wording can vary by statement format, so don't treat the label alone as proof of anything. When a project bills through BGE under consolidated billing, Maryland's rules require BGE to label the credit, the charge, and the net as tied to your community solar subscription (COMAR 20.62.06.04).

In a normal month, here's what the pieces look like:

• The credit. Your share of the farm's production, converted to a dollar amount and applied to your BGE bill.
• The subscription charge. What you pay the project for that share. Depending on whether your project uses consolidated billing, it may appear on your BGE bill or come separately.
• The net. Credit minus charge. On a working subscription, what you pay for the credits should be less than the credits themselves.

Expect the credit to change from month to month. Panels produce less on short winter days than on long summer ones, so a February credit can come in well under an August credit without anything being wrong.

Your first credit may not land on your very next bill. Timing depends on when the project sends BGE its subscriber list and on your billing cycle, under Maryland's community solar rules (COMAR 20.62.02.04).

If you don't remember signing up

Don't assume the line is fine, and don't assume it's fraud. Check it:

1. Search your email and mail for a confirmation or a signed subscriber agreement from a community solar project.
2. If you find one, call the company named on it and ask which farm you're subscribed to and what rate you agreed to.
3. Call BGE using the number on your bill and ask what the line represents and which subscriber organization is attached to your account. BGE should also have sent you a written enrollment notice (COMAR 20.62.05.07).
4. Compare your credits and charges against the disclosure you signed. The numbers should match what you agreed to.
5. If you never signed anything, or the terms don't match, file a complaint with the Maryland PSC.

Real community solar leaves a paper trail with your signature on it.

Does BGE run community solar?

BGE takes part, but it doesn't sell community solar as a product. Independent subscriber organizations build and run the farms. BGE connects those farms to the grid and applies credits to customer bills under its tariff, all within the framework the PSC oversees.

The Maryland Energy Administration lists BGE among the participating utilities, alongside Pepco, Potomac Edison, and Delmarva, and publishes a spreadsheet of projects you can sort by utility. That list is a good way to confirm a project in BGE territory exists. Just know it can go out of date as farms fill up or new ones come online.

Joining also doesn't switch your supplier. Community solar isn't the same as picking a retail energy supplier. You stay a BGE customer, with the same account, the same bill, and the same company to call when a tree takes down a line.

For the statewide picture, see our guide to community solar in Maryland.

How to sign up as a BGE customer

The process is short, and the part that matters most is reading what you sign.

1. Have a recent BGE bill handy. The account needs to be in your name, at an address in BGE's Maryland service area.
2. Check eligibility on JoinCommunity.Solar. Start with your zip code.
3. Get matched. We confirm your eligibility, then match you with an available project that has open capacity.
4. Review and sign that project's subscriber agreement. You sign directly with the project. This is where your rate, cancel terms, and move terms are written down.
5. Watch your next few bills. Look for the credit line and make sure the numbers line up with your disclosure.

Before you sign, find these four things in the agreement: how the price is set (usually as a discount on the value of the credits), how billing works, what happens if you cancel, and what happens if you move. If any of those isn't in writing, ask before you sign.

See what your BGE account qualifies for →

How much can you save?

Savings come as a discount on the value of your solar credits. It's not a flat cut to your whole BGE bill. Your delivery charges and the rest of the bill still apply. Since credit size moves with production, your dollar savings will be higher in sunny months and lower in dark ones.

Illustration only (not a current offer): if your share produced $150 in credit value one month and your agreement priced subscriptions at a 10% discount, you'd pay $135 for those credits and keep about $15 net that month.

For open-category subscribers, the PSC doesn't set the rate. Commercial pricing comes from the project, and the disclosure you sign is what controls. The exception is a PSC cap for income-qualified subscribers, covered below. Current offers and savings for your specific address show up when you run the eligibility check. Our explainer on how community solar credits show up on your electric bill goes deeper on the mechanics.

Who qualifies

You're generally eligible if:

• The BGE bill is in your name.
• Your address is in BGE's Maryland service territory. That includes Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County, most of Howard, Carroll, and Harford, and parts of a few neighboring counties, but your bill is the real test.
• A project serving BGE territory has room for new subscribers.

Homeowners and renters both qualify. If your electricity is bundled into your rent and there's no BGE account in your name, you usually can't attach a subscription directly.

Income-qualified (LMI) savings in BGE territory

Maryland builds protections for low- and moderate-income households into the program itself. According to the PSC:

• Many projects must serve at least 40% of their output to LMI subscribers, unless the project is wholly owned by its subscribers.
• For LMI subscribers, the subscription charge can't exceed 90% of the bill-credit value. That works out to a savings floor of about 10% on the credit.

Income-qualified tiers typically carry a deeper discount on the credit value than open tiers. You may qualify through income limits or through enrollment in programs such as energy assistance (MEAP/LIHEAP through OHEP), SNAP, Medicaid, Head Start, or free and reduced-price school meals. The exact list can vary by agreement. If you self-attest, answer accurately. The project can verify it.

The MEA spreadsheet includes a column flagging projects with special LMI discounts. It's a useful starting point, but check that a project still has LMI capacity before counting on it.

Renters on BGE

If you rent and the BGE bill is in your name, you can join. There are no panels at your home, so you don't need your landlord's approval for any installation, and your lease doesn't change. The PSC says plainly that renters can participate. We cover more renter questions in can renters go solar?

Pilot vs. permanent program

Maryland's community solar pilot ran for seven years and officially ended on December 31, 2024. House Bill 908, passed in 2023, had already made the program permanent. The PSC then published the permanent regulations on February 4, 2025. As of June 30, 2024, the PSC counted 139 projects with about 204 MW of operating capacity statewide.

Maryland's consolidated billing rules (COMAR 20.62.06) required BGE and the other utilities to offer consolidated billing by January 1, 2026. With consolidated billing, the subscription charge appears on your BGE bill next to the credit. Each project chooses whether to use it, so your subscriber agreement says whether you get one bill or two.

If someone tells you the BGE program is over, they're thinking of the pilot.

Where JoinCommunity.Solar fits

JoinCommunity.Solar is a subscription coordinator licensed by the Maryland PSC, license No. 23D3065350006676. For BGE customers, we confirm your account qualifies, match you with an available project in BGE territory, and point you to the agreement you'll review and sign with that project. If anyone else pitches you community solar, ask for their PSC license or approval number before you sign. You can browse more plain-language explainers on our learn page. If your bill comes from a different Maryland utility, start with our Pepco, Delmarva, or Potomac Edison page instead.

See what your BGE account qualifies for →

BGE community solar FAQ