Maryland’s Electric Gamble: Wes Moore’s Net-Zero Regulations

Moore Regulations Face Legal Challenges from Leisure World & Others

Leisure World, a 610-acre gated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, is a political hotspot. Home to over 8,000 residents aged 55 and older, this heavily Democratic enclave is a must-visit for politicians seeking primary votes.[i]

However, new regulations from Gov. Wes Moore threaten the community’s economic stability. The Leisure World community has joined a lawsuit against Maryland’s Department of the Environment over strict “Net Zero” rules. The Department’s Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) aim to slash carbon emissions from large buildings and require massive investments to become electric-powered.  

Maryland’s 2022 Climate Solutions Now Act aimed to cut statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from 2006 levels by 2031 and reach net zero by 2045.[ii] The resulting BEPS rules chart the course to limit emissions and penalize gas appliances like stoves, water heaters, and furnaces. The push for electrification comes as Maryland’s power grid grapples with rising demand and reliability concerns. Critics argue the law and resulting regulations hurt affordability, energy resilience, and consumer choice.

According to Leisure World’s court filing challenging the Moore regulations: “Resident owners of these buildings will have to fund expensive retrofits impacting the energy use of these appliances in order to comply with the Maryland BEPS or will be forced to incur the yearly penalty for noncompliance with the Kg CO2e per square foot requirement in the Maryland BEPS. These financial harms are compounded because Leisure World is a senior community with many residents on limited or fixed incomes, such that some owners likely will be unable to afford the increased assessments necessary to pay for the compliance work and/or fees for noncompliance.”

The consequences of the Moore Administration regulations are not limited to the future. The harm is immediate. As the filing says: “Indeed, the Department itself recognizes the immediate impact of the Maryland BEPS: ‘Between 2025 and 2040, building owners whose buildings do not already meet the BEPS standards will be required to implement energy efficiency measures and/or electrification measures or pay alternative compliance fees in order to comply.” [iii]

Leisure World and its litigation coalition argue that federal law on appliance standards prevents states and localities from setting different rules. Their lawsuit cites a Federal Ninth Circuit decision that struck down Berkeley, California’s ban on gas piping in new buildings. The court ruled that federal law preempts local attempts to regulate energy use or efficiency of gas appliances.[iv]

Moore’s “Net Zero” regulations ignore their enormous costs. The Department of Environment misstates the reality of compelling electrification, claiming, for example, “Household energy costs will decrease significantly under this plan.” [v]

The Environment Department deceptively compared electric heating with propane and oil rather than natural gas to reach its outlandish conclusion. However, natural gas heats 49% of Maryland households, while propane and oil heats 9%.[vi] The authoritative Federal Energy Information Agency counters, “Natural gas heat continues to be cheaper than electric heat in every state.” [vii]

Under the same “Net Zero” regulations, the Moore administration also plans to ban gas-powered car sales by 2035. If implemented, Maryland would join California, Massachusetts, and New York in requiring all new cars, trucks, and SUVs to run on electricity or hydrogen. Yet Maryland would stand alone in the region. Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania have no electric vehicle mandates. (Last year, Virginia recognized the mistake of just following California’s rules and ended their link to it.[viii])

Maryland’s EV mandate starts to bite far sooner than 2035. Starting in model year 2027 (next year in the auto business), 43% of new vehicles sold in Maryland must be electric or zero-emission. Yet Maryland’s EV market share is about 12% today, so that’s a 3.5-fold increase next year. To comply, Maryland auto dealers will likely have to turn away sales of gas-powered vehicles to other states to keep their EV percent in compliance with the Moore regulations.[ix] 

If Wes Moore and the Democratic legislators who empowered his administration to make these regulations believe appliance mandates and gas-car bans are worth the costs, they should be willing to defend these decisions publicly. Instead of hiding behind complex administrative procedures, they should be straight with voters and clearly explain the costs. And Governor Moore should justify why Marylanders must bear these costs when residents of neighboring states do not have to.

Otherwise, who knows, maybe Leisure World’s Democratic voters will begin to vote more like Florida’s largest 55-plus community, the Villages, a Republican stronghold. [x]

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[i] https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/democratic-candidates-governor-tout-electability-mecca-voter-turnout

[ii] https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0528?ys=2022RS

[iii] Maryland Department of the Environment, Technical Support Document for COMAR 26.28 – Building Energy Performance Standards, Nov. 2023 at 6, https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/ regulations/air/Documents/BEPS/BEPS%20TSD%20PACKAGE%20FINAL%20%2812-5-2023 %29.pdf.

[iv] Also see litigation  challenging Montgomery County’s gas appliance ban, https://montgomeryperspective.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Complaint-US-District-Court-Maryland-24-3024.pdf  

[v] “Household energy costs will decrease significantly under this plan.” p. 9 https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/air/ClimateChange/Maryland%20Climate%20Reduction%20Plan/Maryland%27s%20Climate%20Pollution%20Reduction%20Plan%20-%20Final%20-%20Dec%2028%2020236.pdf  

[vi] https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/state/pdf/State%20Space%20Heating%20Fuels.pdf

[vii] https://www.energyindepth.org/eia-natural-gas-continues-to-be-the-most-affordable-option-for-heating-homes/  for more on the electric vs. natural gas comparison, see https://shrinkthatfootprint.com/natural-gas-heat-vs-electrical-heat/

[viii] https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2024/24-017-Youngkin-&-McDougle-issued.pdf

[ix] See  John Bozzella, president and CEO of Alliance for Automotive Innovation the Baltimore Sun Maryland can’t afford its impending gas vehicle ban; January 28, 2025   https://www.baltimoresun.com/2025/01/28/maryland-cant-afford-its-impending-gas-vehicle-ban-guest-commentary/

[x]  See “The Villages of Florida remains GOP stronghold despite robust Harris push”    https://www.gulflive.com/news/2024/11/the-villages-of-florida-remains-gop-stronghold-despite-robust-harris-push.html

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