By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

Electric residential utility accounts in Berlin will see a credit of $54 on their next bill as part of a statewide energy relief refund passed earlier this year.

According to Natalie Saleh, Berlin’s finance director, the State of Maryland recently passed a bill, the Legislative Energy Relief Refund, that aims to provide customers with relief from high energy costs resulting from rising electric supply prices.

The state distributed approximately $200 million to provide this assistance to consumers. Of that, Berlin received $104,000. Saleh stated that this will be divided evenly among approximately 2,000 residential accounts within the Town of Berlin. As such, customers will see a return of $54.

According to a June press release from the Maryland Public Service Commission on the energy refund, the group established a plan to provide bill credits to residential electricity customers through the Next Generation Energy Act (Senate Bill 937/House Bill 1035) that the General Assembly passed during the 2025 legislative session, which authorized the creation of the Legislative Energy Relief Refund. The $200 million approved for the refunds will be applied to utility bills in two phases: one in late summer of this year and the other in early 2026.

Berlin customers will find a message on their next bill that states the credit is from the energy relief refund. The $54 is a one-time monetary assistance. Saleh noted that to comply with the law, Berlin’s financial staff had to complete a significant amount of paperwork and legwork. However, Mary Bohlen, town administrator, maintained that this effort did not yield any unnecessary administrative costs.

The state’s service commission outlines the terms and conditions of the refund.

“To be eligible for the first round of credits, the customer must have an active residential electric account as of June 1, 2025, must have recorded electricity usage during the 12-month period ending March 31, 2025 (to cover the impacts of this past winter’s heating season), and must be an active account holder during the billing month in which the credit is applied to the customer’s bill,” the Maryland commission’s press release reads.