MARYLAND GUIDE / UTILITY NOTIFICATION
How to notify your Maryland utility about plug-in solar
By PlugWatts editorial · Sources reviewed September 15, 2026 · AI-assisted research and editorial review
Notify your electric utility before installing a qualifying plug-in solar system. You must also provide certification describing its safety features and maximum generating capacity. Start with the utility that delivers electricity to your home, then use its route below. Maryland PSC guidance.
This guide helps you gather information, find the right form or contact, and keep a record. PlugWatts does not submit your notice or store your account documents. You can copy the preparation checklist and keep it privately.
Find your utility or jump to a section
First, check that this is your pathway
Maryland’s portable-solar provision covers a movable system designed to connect through a standard outlet and offset some household electricity use. It allows one qualifying system per residential meter, with a maximum output to the building of 1,200 watts and certification by UL or an equivalent nationally recognized testing laboratory. If your proposed setup does not fit those conditions, do not assume this notification process applies. Maryland law, §7–321.
Still choosing equipment or assessing your home? Start with our Maryland plug-in solar guide or Check.
Find your utility’s next step
Check your electric bill for the delivery utility. A retail electricity supplier may be a different company. If the bill is unclear, ask which company maintains your service and meter; a ZIP code alone should not decide where your notice goes.
We reviewed the nine routes listed by the Maryland PSC. We inspected public instructions and accessible forms, but did not send notices or test acknowledgments. Open the official route again before sending: forms and contacts can change.
BGE: call for the notification process
Call 1-800-685-0123, the number listed by the PSC. Say you want to notify BGE about a portable solar system before installation. Ask how to deliver its safety and capacity certification, and request a reference for the conversation. We have not confirmed the document-delivery step. PSC contact directory.
Choptank: open the portal; confirm the portable-solar route
The PSC links Choptank’s PowerClerk portal, which requires login. We could not inspect the fields behind that screen. If the application is unclear, ask netmetering@choptankelectric.coop which steps apply to portable solar before completing a conventional interconnection application. PSC directory.
Delmarva Power: prepare an email
Delmarva’s Maryland instructions list GPCBillingACEDPL@exeloncorp.com. Gather your name, service address, electric account number, email and phone, approximate system size in kilowatts, manufacturer, certification information, and details of existing generation. The page asks about UL 3700 and/or UL1741; report what your documents actually establish. Its attachment format and acknowledgment process remain unconfirmed. Delmarva instructions.
Easton Utilities: complete the signed form
The Easton PDF asks for contact and account information, AC and DC capacity, and testing-laboratory certification status. It includes a customer signature, date, and accuracy statement. The PSC lists netmetering@eucmail.com; the PDF itself does not explain delivery. Confirm how to send the signed form and supporting documents. PSC directory.
Hagerstown Light Department: use the online form
The Hagerstown form asks for your name, account number, email, service address, AC/DC capacity, and certification status. Select the optional email-copy checkbox and enter its recipient address if you want a copy. No document-upload field was visible in our review; ask how to provide supporting certification. An emailed copy would record the form contents, not establish staff review.
Potomac Edison: save the PDF and email it
Complete the portable-solar notification PDF and send the saved form as an attachment to pe-md_interconnection@firstenergycorp.com. It asks for name, account number, email, AC/DC capacity in watts, and UL-or-equivalent certification status. No signature field appears. See the worked process below.
Pepco: prepare an email
Pepco lists GPCBillingPepco@exeloncorp.com. Gather your name, service address, electric account number, email and phone, approximate system size in kilowatts, manufacturer, certification information, and existing generation. As with Delmarva, describe the evidence accurately when answering its UL 3700 and/or UL1741 question. The page does not specify an attachment format or promise acknowledgment. Pepco instructions.
SMECO: gather panel details for registration
The SMECO registration form asks for your name, address, account number, email, panel size, panel count, and UL-certification status. If “panel size” is ambiguous for your equipment, or your documentation names an equivalent laboratory, ask portablesolar@SMECO.coop how to enter it. Do not change an answer just to fit the form. No upload field or advance promise of a receipt was visible in our review.
Town of Berlin: request the form and document instructions
The PSC lists 410-973-2213 and Aparkinson@berlinmd.gov. We did not find a dedicated portable-solar form on the linked Electric department page or its forms directory. Ask for the notification form, required information, and certification-delivery method. PSC directory.
Gather the information before opening a form
The exact fields vary by utility. Our preparation list keeps account information separate from equipment evidence:
- Your service: utility, account holder, service address, account number, and contact details.
- Your equipment: exact manufacturer and model, proposed configuration, instructions, and certification documents.
- Its capacity: the ratings requested by the utility, copied from the appropriate equipment documentation with units attached.
- Questions to resolve: missing certification documents, unclear fields, and the route for delivering attachments.
AC capacity describes alternating-current output; DC capacity describes direct-current capacity, commonly the panel rating in this context. The two values can differ. Use the requested rating rather than copying a kit’s headline wattage into both boxes. If the documentation is unclear, ask the manufacturer or utility which value belongs in the field. One kilowatt equals 1,000 watts.
A certification checkbox is not a substitute for matching documentation to your proposed system. A mark on one component does not by itself establish the complete configuration’s qualification. See our safety and certification questions.
Worked process: a Potomac Edison notice
- Download the current official PDF. It is linked under Important Notices on Potomac Edison’s Maryland page. The portable-solar PDF explicitly uses email, even though the parent page describes a portal for ordinary interconnection applications.
- Complete its fields from your account and equipment records. Resolve missing or conflicting information before declaring certification.
- Save the completed file and assemble the certification evidence. The instructions require safety/capacity certification but do not specify the format of accompanying documents. Ask the listed contact if the format is unclear.
- Review and send. Attach the saved form to an email to the address above before installation. Keep the exact message and attachments.
This is a document-based example, not a tested filing. We have not confirmed delivery, acknowledgment timing, or how Potomac Edison responds to missing information. Official PDF.
Keep a record you can understand later
Use a private folder for your documents. Our suggested record separates three milestones:
| Status | What you have | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Prepared | Reviewed form and supporting documents | Nothing has necessarily been sent. |
| Sent | Sent email or completed portal-submission evidence, with date and attachments | Delivery or utility review may still be unconfirmed. |
| Acknowledged | A utility message or reference confirming receipt | Equipment qualification or installation safety. |
Keep failures and follow-up requests too. If email bounces, record the failure and check the destination. If a web form gives no confirmation, save what is visible and ask the utility how to confirm receipt. Do not treat clicking Submit as proof of successful delivery.
Copy the preparation and submission-record checklist. It works as a local worksheet; no account or email signup is needed.
Questions that notification does not settle
Do I need utility approval?
For a qualifying system, the law prohibits requiring utility approval before installation or use. Notification and providing certification are still customer obligations. A receipt records correspondence; it does not approve the equipment, outlet, mounting, or property arrangements. §7–321.
Will surplus electricity earn a credit?
Do not assume it will. The PSC warns that meter treatment varies and that some meters can count exported electricity as consumption. Ask your utility how your particular meter and account handle exports. PSC meter warning.
Can AI handle the paperwork?
AI can help organize documents and prepare a draft. You still need to check account details, equipment ratings, certification evidence, and the recipient. PlugWatts currently provides guidance; it has no live utility-filing or document-storage service.
What if I already have rooftop solar?
Tell the utility about existing generation. Pepco and Delmarva explicitly request that information. Ask how the proposed addition affects your existing setup and account before assuming this notice settles those questions. Pepco instructions.
What if I cannot find certification evidence?
Keep the packet in preparation and ask the manufacturer for documentation matching the exact system and connection method. Do not invent a certificate or answer yes based only on advertising. Return to the Maryland guide to review the remaining conditions.
How we researched this guide
PlugWatts compared the PSC directory with official utility pages, accessible online forms, and downloadable PDFs on September 15, 2026. AI assisted research and drafting. We did not submit customer notices, inspect authenticated Choptank fields, or test receipt processes. This article contains no affiliate links or paid recommendations.
Our contribution is the route comparison and preparation worksheet. Unresolved delivery steps are labeled beside the affected utility. See our sources and method.
Found a changed form or incorrect statement? Use About & corrections with the page address and an official source. Do not send account numbers, home addresses, or certification packets through that public request form.
Use the meter and bill record worksheet to keep billing questions separate from your notification.