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April 28, 2026
Hi Friend,
Much has already been written about Montgomery County, Maryland's expansive microgrid program, but I wanted to dig deeper.
How exactly is the county pulling this off when so many other municipal governments stumble?
Spurred by a 2012 derecho that caused widespread power outages, Montgomery County has built a portfolio of microgrids that serve its public safety headquarters, correctional facility, an animal shelter, recreational center, and transit depots. Next, it plans to create dozens of community resilience hubs.
I thought Montgomery County's success might be a result of its population's wealth -- among the highest in the US. But Michael Yambrach, chief of Montgomery County’s Office of Energy and Sustainability, set me straight on that.
If you want to listen to the full conversation, here is the podcast. (It was interesting!) Or if you are more a reader than listener, here is today's feature posted on Microgrids Now: Against the Odds, Local Communities Can Build Local Energy. Here’s How
Also, check out our recent news story on Energy Changemakers about Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger making the state the third to create rules to make it easier for households to install balcony solar. Balcony solar may seem small and insignificant (megawatt-wise), but it sure is creating a lot of debate.
Articles
- Virginia Becomes Third State to Approve Balcony Solar
- Microgrids Are a Goldmine for Grid Operators — They Just Don’t Know It
- Don’t Underestimate Balcony Solar
- Almost Bankrupt, This Electric Co-op Saved Itself by Ditching the Status Quo
- The Factory Boom Is Real—Until You Try to Plug It In
Podcast
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Montgomery County, Maryland — located just outside Washington, D.C. — has emerged as one of the most ambitious local governments in the United States when it comes to distributed energy, microgrids, and clean power resilience. Since its first microgrid went online in 2018, the county has built out a portfolio of advanced installations at public safety facilities, a correctional facility, electric bus depots, and smaller community sites. Now, with 23 “resilient hub” microgrids under development and plans to produce on-site green hydrogen for its transit fleet, Montgomery County is redefining what local energy leadership looks like.
In this conversation, host Elisa Wood sits down with two key architects of this vision: Michael Yambrach, Chief of Montgomery County’s Office of Energy and Sustainability, who has overseen the county’s energy evolution since 2014; and Khaled Fakhuri, Senior Vice President of Schneider Electric’s Microgrid Business, the county’s long-term development partner. Together, they unpack how the county got here, how the public-private partnership model works, and what the future of microgrids looks like at local, national, and even data-center scale
Stuff We're Reading Around the Web
How to Avoid a $1 billion FERC Fine
FERC recently issued one of its largest enforcement orders ever, writes Rao Konidena of Rakon Energy on Substack. The target was American Efficient, a firm that collected roughly $515 million in capacity payments from PJM and MISO — for energy efficiency resources it never actually controlled.
FERC fined the company $722 million in civil fines plus disgorgement of approximately $410 million in unjust profits. The total exposure exceeds $1.1 billion.
Konidena says FERC is sending a message for other demand response providers to heed. He explains what American Efficient did and how demand response providers can avoid similar FERC penalties.
More here.
Virginia — Home to Data Center Ally — Sees Utility Rates Rise 26%
Let's hope Virginia isn't a bellwether for what's to come for electricity rates.
The nation's most data-center-heavy state saw a 26.3% rise in electricity rates year over year in February, according to data released last week by the US Energy Information Administration.
While Virginia saw the highest rate hike, Ohio wasn't far behind with a 21.9% increase and Pennsylvania (where rates have become a political issue) at 19.5%.
Forty-three states saw rates rise, with an average nationwide increase of 9%, bringing the average rate to 14.36 cents/kWh.
In seven lucky states, electricity rates dropped, led by Rhode Island, down 13.4%, followed by New Mexico, down 6.2%, and Connecticut, down 5.2%.
Thank you for reading and listening! Elisa Wood
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