Utility Tariff Analysis · Updated September 2026

Potomac Edison and Exelon's Proposed Large-Load Rate Schedule: What It Means for AI Data Center Siting in Maryland

September 18, 2026 6 min read Strategic Crypto Reserve Data Center Infrastructure

Large-load customers under Maryland's 2025 Next Generation Energy Act and 2026 Utility RELIEF Act are the subject of separate proposals filed September 1, 2026 by Potomac Edison and Maryland's Exelon utilities for a specific rate schedule, directly implementing the two recent state laws aimed at ensuring large loads cover their own cost of service.

Maryland at a glance: industrial power about 10.8¢/kWh (EIA-based, indexed to April 2026) · grid queue about 36 months · data center equipment tax exemption: available. Indicative figures from the SCR AI Build Configurator v1.4.0.

The Tariff Explained Model a Maryland Build Free

Potomac Edison and Exelon's Proposed Large-Load Rate Schedule

Potomac Edison (FirstEnergy) and the Maryland Exelon companies

PC72

Regulatory docket / filing reference

Large-load customers under Maryland's 2025 Next Generation Energy Act and 2026 Utility RELIEF Act

Who the tariff applies to

Also active in Maryland: Maryland's pipeline includes a 2,400 MW Quantum Frederick Project data center in Frederick County served by Potomac Edison — one of the largest single proposed loads on the Mid-Atlantic grid.

Maryland at a glance: large-load tariff threshold, docket and who it applies to

Named Projects Already Underway

Customer	Location	Details
Quantum Frederick Project	Frederick County, MD	2,400 MW data center project

Policy Update, 1 October 2026

An executive order of 23 September 2026 requires a standardised state review for data centre projects of 25 MW and above: a task force rates each one Aligned, Conditionally Aligned or Not Aligned, with a public dashboard updated monthly. The governor is asking the legislature to repeal the 2020 equipment sales tax exemption, which remains open for now. At the federal level, FERC issued show-cause orders on large-load interconnection to all six RTOs and ISOs on 18 June 2026, and PJM filed a framework on 13 August 2026 under which new loads of 50 MW or more that do not bring their own capacity face curtailment ahead of other demand response from 1 June 2027.

Figures compiled from the Edison Electric Institute's "Large Load Projects and Tariffs" (September 2026) member-company summary and public regulatory filings. Confirm current tariff terms directly with Potomac Edison (FirstEnergy) and the Maryland Exelon companies and the relevant state public utility commission before relying on any figure for a capital decision.

Weighing Maryland against another state or a Canadian province with a different rate and interconnection picture entirely? Run both sides of the comparison through our licensed AI data center cost configurator — it applies each jurisdiction's actual power rate, tax treatment and large-load tariff rules to the same seven build configurations.

Named data center projects underway in Maryland

Named Projects Already Underway: Potomac Edison and Exelon's Proposed Large-Load Rate Schedule: What It Means for AI Data Center Siting in Maryland

Model This State on Your Own Site

Every figure above comes from the same power-cost and tariff dataset behind the SCR AI Build Configurator — a licensed, embeddable widget that models seven data center build configurations against all nine Canadian provinces and all 50 US states plus DC, returning capital expenditure by line item, energy cost, revenue by commercial structure, EBITDA and payback.

Licence	Price (CAD)	Who it suits
Standard	$4,000 / domain / year	Advisors who need three lease-model configurations and a clipboard summary
Pro	$10,000 / domain / year	Consultants who send CSV deliverables to clients and want all seven configurations
Enterprise	From $25,000 / year, up to 3 domains	Developers and EPC firms who want the model on their own cost basis with attribution removed

Not ready for an annual licence? A one-time Site Screening Report ($950, one site) runs the same model for a single build without embedding anything.

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Model a Maryland data center build in the SCR AI Build Configurator: CapEx, power cost, EBITDA and payback

Model This State on Your Own Site: Potomac Edison and Exelon's Proposed Large-Load Rate Schedule: What It Means for AI Data Center Siting in Maryland

Compare Maryland With Nearby States

Large-load rules change sharply at state lines. See how the neighbouring utilities handle data center and high-density loads before you shortlist a site.

Virginia

Dominion GS-5 (25 MW)

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania framework (50 MW)

Delaware

Delmarva GS-LL (50 MW)

West Virginia

Appalachian Power LCP / IP

All 50 State Tariffs Data Center Cost Calculator AI Build Configurations

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Potomac Edison and Exelon's Proposed Large-Load Rate Schedule?

Why did Potomac Edison (FirstEnergy) and the Maryland Exelon companies introduce this large-load structure?

To ensure the cost of new generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure built to serve very large customers, chiefly hyperscale data centers, is paid for by those customers rather than spread across the general rate base of residential and small commercial ratepayers.

What large data center projects are already active in Maryland?

Maryland's pipeline includes a 2,400 MW Quantum Frederick Project data center in Frederick County served by Potomac Edison — one of the largest single proposed loads on the Mid-Atlantic grid.

Does this tariff replace Maryland's standard commercial and industrial rates?

No. Potomac Edison and Exelon's Proposed Large-Load Rate Schedule sits above Potomac Edison (FirstEnergy) and the Maryland Exelon companies's standard commercial and industrial rate schedules and applies specifically to customers that meet or exceed the large-load threshold described above. Smaller commercial and industrial loads continue to be billed under existing rate schedules.

How can I model a Maryland data center build against this tariff and other states?

The SCR AI Build Configurator applies Maryland's power cost, tax treatment and large-load tariff rules alongside all other US states and Canadian provinces, so a Maryland scenario can be compared line-by-line against any alternative site.