Maryland households that receive a state energy assistance grant will be signed up automatically for a new monthly utility discount when it launches on Jan. 1, 2027. The program, called the Residential Customer Assistance Program, or R-CAP, uses tiered discounts meant to bring eligible households’ utility bills down to about 6% of their income, according to a presentation to the Office of Home Energy Programs advisory board on Oct. 8.
No separate application is needed. Utility accounts that receive an OHEP energy assistance grant will be enrolled for 18 months.
A discount built around income, not a flat credit
R-CAP works differently from an OHEP grant. OHEP’s presentation describes it as monthly tiered discounts, applied to the utility bill itself month after month.
The Maryland Public Service Commission approved the framework in Order No. 92190 on Feb. 12, 2026, in a case known as PC 59. The order states the goal as helping limited-income customers “achieve an energy burden of approximately six percent,” meaning energy costs would take up no more than about 6% of a household’s income…