MARYLAND (WBFF) — Some state lawmakers are calling for an audit into the EmPOWER Maryland program after allegations of fraud have surfaced.
“I don’t think there’s the level of accountability obviously that there needs to be,” Senator Justin Ready said.
The EmPOWER Maryland program is an energy efficiency program which provides incentives, rebates and other types of assistance to homeowners and businesses, with the goal of reducing energy consumption, strengthening the grid, lowering bills and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
According to our media partners at the Baltimore Sun, whistleblowers, who previously filed a sealed lawsuit, accused Lockheed Martin and its contractors of overstating energy savings, billing for work that wasn’t done, and diverting millions in ratepayer funds between 2015 and 2019. The case was later settled.
In a response, a representative from Lockheed Martin referred a request for comment to TRC, the company that bought Lockheed Martin Distributed Energy Solutions in 2019. TRC did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the Maryland Public Service Commission said the Commission’s Technical staff has requested authorization from the Commission to conduct an investigation into the allegations. A recent Staff report noted that “one utility reported fraudulent filings in the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program,” which is a program within EmPOWER. While the extent is unclear, the report said, “staff plans to prioritize its investigation into allegations of fraudulent claims.”
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The report also notes when it comes to contractors installing equipment, at times, rebate processing can take nearly two months.
“We ought to be able to audit it, and I look forward to actually finding out more about what our audit committee is going to do on this issue,” Ready said.
“It’s not direct taxpayer spending, but is absolutely our taxpayers and ratepayers that are funding this program, and if the money’s been taken and used under false pretenses or been, you know, siphoned off, we need to know and get to the bottom of it and penalize and punish whoever’s responsible,” he added.
In a statement, House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk said, “As Speaker, I highlighted the importance of accountability as one of the hallmark issues we focused on this session. The legislature is a partner with the Public Service Commission in making sure we are good stewards of ratepayer funds. Even a hint of fraud in our programs deserves consideration of further investigation or review. I trust the work of the Commissioners to provide the oversight necessary to protect these funds and the integrity of the important work of the EmPOWER program.”
EmPOWER was a source of controversy during the last legislative session. While lawmakers did end up making changes to the EmPOWER program, which is where the bulk of the estimated $150 in annual energy savings will come from, Republicans wanted to go even further, with some pushing to pause the program and others pushing to eliminate it entirely. Supporters of the program argue it has been successful, saving customers billions of dollars.
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