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BGE solar interconnection: what it requires before you energize
How does BGE detect unpermitted backfeed?
Being verified being verified
What happens if they catch you?
Being verified being verified
Small and DIY interconnection requirements
Green Power Connection portal, you can apply directly, a contractor isn't required. Applications under 20 kW AC take up to 20 days to process. documented
Order is strict: application approved first, then install and county inspection, then Certificate of Completion, then meter swap, and no operating until the permission to operate email. documented
The MD state form itself says you shall not operate until final acceptance by the utility. documented
1:1 retail net metering, credits bank indefinitely, or take the annual April payout for excess at the SOS rate (~10c). Systems sized to your annual usage. documented
sources: BGE getting started with solar · MD Level 1 form (PDF)
How BGE interconnection works in practice
Applying with BGE means Maryland's statewide Level 1 process: the standard state application form, a certified inverter, and BGE's own 20-business-day clock for review of a complete residential application. The application, single-line diagram, and equipment spec sheets go in together, and approval must be in hand before the system is energized.
Net metering in BGE territory is Maryland's 1:1 arrangement: exports offset imports at retail, credits roll month to month, and the annual true-up pays out leftovers. Maryland's plug-in solar exemption has been live since May 2026, so qualifying plug-in systems under the size threshold skip the full interconnection agreement entirely.
A note for people searching BGE community solar: that's a different program from rooftop interconnection. Community solar subscribers buy into a shared array and get bill credits without installing anything, no interconnection application involved. This page covers connecting your own system.
Practical order of operations: application first, then purchase, then install, then county inspection, then BGE's approval to operate. The expensive mistake is buying hardware before the application clears, since equipment substitutions mean amending the application and restarting the clock.
Verify your export before BGE does
BGE nets your exports, but the meter still logs every reverse-flow interval, including ones you didn't plan. Worth knowing your real number before they do.
Clamp meter on the grid input · energy monitor on the export register
Building battery-first or zero-export anyway? Craftstrom · EZ-1 · EG4
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Related: Potomac Edison (MD / WV) · DTE Energy (MI (metro Detroit))
Planning a zero-export or plug-in setup here? See the zero-export reality check and equipment notes.
Every claim above is evidence-graded: documented means it traces to the tariff or the utility's own filings, reported means a dated community report. The full table covers 60 utilities: see all of Gridrules.