Maryland Cannabis Cultivation Facility Energy: Lighting, Dehumidification, and BGE Demand Classes

How BGE and Pepco read a sealed indoor canopy

Interval data from a Maryland grow usually shows a lighting plateau for twelve or eighteen hours, a lower overnight plateau, and a July-to-September hump when latent removal outruns sensible cooling. Central Maryland and Eastern Shore dew points in the upper 60s and low 70s F make that hump wider here than in drier PJM states [noaa-cag-maryland].

At BGE, Schedules G and GS serve accounts under 60 kW; Schedules GL, GLP, P, and T serve accounts over 60 kW at secondary, 13 kV, or 34 kV voltage with per-kW delivery demand charges and time-of-use energy charges [bge-segmentation]. Pepco Maryland uses general service schedules keyed to maximum 30-minute demand over a rolling twelve billing months, with low-voltage and primary-voltage variants [bge-segmentation]. Delmarva Power Maryland and Potomac Edison follow similar demand-metered general service structures [md-psc-sos].

Maryland counted 23 licensed growers operating as of January 2026, with more conditional licenses still converting [md-mca-senate-briefing-2026]. Most standard indoor grows will sit above the 60 kW BGE line once flowering rooms energize.

Canopy watts and the 60 kW BGE breakpoint

Model 8,000 square feet of flowering canopy at 35 W per square foot under horticultural LEDs. That watt density is an example, not an MCA rule. With every circuit energized, lighting alone is 280 kW. Veg and mother rooms might contribute another 50 kW for roughly 330 kW of photoperiod load.

330 kW clears BGE's 60 kW general-service split, so the account lands on Schedule GL, GLP, P, or T, or on Pepco or Delmarva medium or large general service schedules with demand metering [bge-segmentation]. Dollar per-kW delivery charges live in each utility's tariff book; the segmentation PDF only shows which schedule applies.

HPS-to-LED retrofits and dimming strategy move this block faster than any other single equipment choice; see the fixture comparison page.

HVAC and dehumidification in a 1,140 cooling degree day climate

Maryland runs 4,563 heating degree days and 1,140 cooling degree days in a normal year [noaa-cag-maryland]. Winter envelope losses are real, but summer dew points in the upper 60s and low 70s F push sealed-room dehumidification load from June through September [noaa-cag-maryland]. The dehumidification load page covers the physics.

Continuing the example: assume the HVAC and dehumidification plant draws 180 kW at summer peak and 100 kW on an average day, with 35 kW of pumps, fans, controls, and office load year-round. Summer peak demand is then 330 + 180 + 35 = 545 kW. Winter peak, with the cooling plant loafing, might be 330 + 100 + 35 = 465 kW.

That 545 kW peak keeps the account in Type II SOS territory under COMAR's 600 kW PJM peak load contribution threshold, but it is close enough that one bad July afternoon could push an account toward hourly priced service [md-comar-20-52-01-02].

Annual kWh sketch for an 8,000-square-foot flowering room

Only EIA averages and climate normals below are cited facts; other rows are illustrative. Annual energy:

Load	Assumption	Annual kWh
Flower lighting	280 kW, 12 hours a day, 365 days	1,226,400
Veg and mother lighting	50 kW, 18 hours a day, 365 days	328,500
HVAC and dehumidification	100 kW average across the year	876,000
Pumps, fans, controls, office	35 kW continuous	306,600
Total		2,737,500

At the EIA June 2026 Maryland commercial average of 16.84 cents per kWh, that is about $461,000 a year all-in [eia-epm-5-6-a]. At the Maryland industrial average of 13.51 cents it would be about $370,000 [eia-epm-5-6-a]. The 3.33 cent gap between those averages is why class placement and supply contract structure matter.

Per-kW delivery demand on BGE GL, P, and T schedules comes from the tariff, not from your PSC-licensed supplier contract [bge-segmentation]. Open the current tariff for dollar rates; here treat demand as its own budget line that scales with the highest thirty-minute interval. Demand charges and HVAC sizing explain how overspecified dehumidifiers inflate that interval.

Gas-fired CO2 and latent load in humid summers

Liquid CO2 adds little beyond controls. Burner-based enrichment dumps heat and moisture the dehumidifier must strip, so the indirect kWh shows up on latent-removal equipment, especially June through September when Maryland dew points run high [noaa-cag-maryland]. Model the stack on the CO2 supplementation page.

Standard Offer Service tiers if you never shop

Type II SOS applies to non-residential accounts ineligible for Type I with a PJM peak load contribution under 600 kW [md-comar-20-52-01-02]. Large commercial SOS is bid quarterly, so the benchmark moves every three months [md-psc-sos]. Accounts at or above the hourly priced service threshold pay PJM hourly prices plus adders [md-comar-20-52-01-02]. Neither is a stable multi-year budget line. A grow that wants supply certainty signs a fixed, index, or block-and-index contract with a PSC-licensed supplier.

Commissioning choices while lottery licensees energize

MCA told the Senate Finance Committee it expects sixty-plus additional lottery licensees to open through October 2026, many still picking sites and transformer sizes [md-mca-senate-briefing-2026]. Three decisions stick:

1. Voltage class. BGE Schedule P and T serve primary and transmission voltage; GL and GLP serve secondary and 13 kV [bge-segmentation]. Primary service can lower per-kW delivery at the cost of owned transformers.
2. Licensed canopy versus energized canopy. Indoor flowering footprint fell from about 1.53 million sq ft in 2023 to about 781,000 sq ft in 2025 while electrical service often stayed sized for the larger number [md-mca-senate-briefing-2026]. Do not request megawatt service for rooms you will not light this year.
3. PJM zone tag. BGE and Pepco zones saw sharp RPM capacity increases for recent delivery years [md-psc-sos]. Frederick County grows on Potomac Edison sit in the APS zone, which has historically priced below BGE and Pepco.

EmPOWER rebates before you bid supply

Trimming peak kW lowers delivery faster than trimming kWh lowers generation when schedules are demand-metered. Pepco medium and large business incentives include dehumidifiers, HVAC, and controls, with a temporary forty percent HVAC bonus while funding lasts [pepco-md-mlb]. Potomac Edison's Energy Save Maryland programs cover lighting, HVAC, and custom building work [md-psc-sos]. Grow-light retrofits usually need a custom track.

Neighboring states price the same room differently. Compare Pennsylvania grower/processor loads and New Jersey cultivation tariffs, then line up BGE, Pepco, Delmarva, and Potomac Edison on the Maryland commercial rates page.

Canopy utilization and oversized service

MCA reported indoor flowering canopy fell from about 1.53 million sq ft in 2023 to about 781,000 sq ft in 2025 while many sites kept service sized for larger licensed footprints [md-mca-senate-briefing-2026]. Supply contracts and transformer requests should reflect energized canopy, not maximum allotment [md-mca-senate-briefing-2026]. BGE Schedule GL serves accounts over 60 kW at secondary voltage with per-kW delivery [bge-segmentation].

Quarterly bill review cadence

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [eia-epm-5-6-a]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [md-mca-senate-briefing-2026]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [bge-segmentation]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [md-comar-20-52-01-02]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [noaa-cag-maryland]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Documentation for audits and lenders

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [eia-epm-5-6-a]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [md-mca-senate-briefing-2026]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [bge-segmentation]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [md-comar-20-52-01-02]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [noaa-cag-maryland]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Board reporting on utility COGS

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [eia-epm-5-6-a]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [md-mca-senate-briefing-2026]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [bge-segmentation]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [md-comar-20-52-01-02]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [noaa-cag-maryland]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Tariff verification before budgeting

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [eia-epm-5-6-a]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [md-mca-senate-briefing-2026]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [bge-segmentation]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [md-comar-20-52-01-02]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [noaa-cag-maryland]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [eia-epm-5-6-a].