Electric companies in Howard County, Maryland
Howard County, MD ranks 1 of 23 Maryland counties for the lowest home energy burden (1.4% of income). Howard County in Maryland has 333,916 residents and 2 utilities listed by EIA.
Households in Howard County can pick a supplier. How to compare.
Howard County on the map
Howard County darker: more storm events
Electric utilities in Howard County
| Utility listed for Howard County, MD | Type | Home accounts in Maryland |
|---|---|---|
| The Potomac Edison Company in Howard County, MD | Investor Owned | 256,568 |
| Baltimore Gas & Electric Co in Howard County, MD | Investor Owned | 1,214,100 |
Plans from retail suppliers are not in public data, so no plan prices are shown. The listed utilities deliver the power, and which one serves your street depends on the address.
Cost of living with electricity in Howard County
Howard County, MD: electricity $1,533 a year per home (DOE LEAD), all home energy $2,285, 1.4% of $169,087 income. 119,230 households in Howard County, MD spend about $182.8 million a year on electricity and $272.4 million on all home energy. Lower-income homes in Howard County, MD ($26,307 a year) spend 5.5% of income, 4.1 times the all-home figure.
Energy burden in Howard County, MD
| Howard County, MD | Homes | Income | Power | Gas | Other | Burden |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, MD, all households | 119,230 | $169,087 | $1,533 | $602 | $150 | 1.4% |
| Howard County, MD, lower income | 19,090 | $26,307 | $1,122 | $251 | $79 | 5.5% |
| Howard County, MD, owners | 85,941 | $201,511 | $1,763 | $771 | $199 | 1.4% |
| Howard County, MD, renters | 33,289 | $85,379 | $940 | $166 | $23 | 1.3% |
Facts about Howard County
- Residents of Howard County, MD, ACS 2023
- 333,9165 of 23 Maryland counties
- Households in Howard County, MD
- 120,0662.78 people each
- Owner-occupied homes in Howard County, MD
- 71.7%86,100 owner and 33,966 renter households
- Median household income in Howard County, MD
- $146,9821 of 23 Maryland counties
- Housing units in Howard County, MD
- 124,4894,423 vacant or seasonal, 3.6% of the units
- Homes heated by electricity in Howard County, MD
- 49.1%58,941 homes, 16 of 23 Maryland counties
- Utilities listed for Howard County, MD
- 22 with a home price: The Potomac Edison Company, Baltimore Gas & Electric Co
- ZIP areas touching Howard County, MD
- 2120701 to 21797
- Outage-linked storm events in Howard County, MD
- 249NWS storm events, 2015 to 2025
- Homes built before 1980 in Howard County, MD
- 29.6%median year built 1989
- Flood claims in Howard County, MD
- 232NFIP 2015 to 2025, $14.6M paid
- Home energy burden in Howard County, MD
- 1.4%$1,533 a year on electricity (DOE LEAD)
Housing and heating in Howard County
Howard County, MD: 36,847 of 124,489 homes were built before 1980 and 34,955 in 2000 or later. Howard County, MD has 62,895 detached houses, 30,511 homes in 5+ unit buildings, 1,190 mobile homes, and 33,966 of 120,066 households rent.
Age of homes in Howard County, MD
% of homes by decade built, Howard County, MD
- 2pre-40
- 140s
- 350s
- 760s
- 1870s
- 2380s
- 1990s
- 1400s
- 1410s
- 120+
Heating fuel in Howard County, MD
| Howard County, MD | Value | State median | Gap | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, MD, median year built | 1989 | 1983 | +6 years | 5 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, built before 1980 | 29.6% | 45.2% | -15.6 points | 22 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, built 2000 or later | 28.1% | 21.8% | +6.3 points | 6 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, detached houses | 50.5% | 70.6% | -20.1 points | 19 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, apartments in 5+ unit buildings | 24.5% | 11.5% | +13.1 points | 5 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, mobile homes | 1.0% | 2.7% | -1.8 points | 16 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, renter households | 28.3% | 27.4% | +0.9 points | 9 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, median home value | $576,700 | $367,300 | +$209,400 | 2 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, median gross rent a month | $2,038 | $1,370 | +$668 | 1 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, people per household | 2.76 | 2.57 | +0.19 | 3 of 23 |
Outage risk in Howard County
Howard County, MD, NWS storm events 2015 to 2025: 249 in all, 74.6 per 100,000 residents of 333,916, rank 8 of 23 Maryland counties. Property damage in Howard County, MD: $4.8M, with 1 direct injuries or deaths.
Events by year in Howard County, MD
events a year, Howard County, MD
- 18'15
- 32'16
- 19'17
- 21'18
- 45'19
- 41'20
- 23'21
- 9'22
- 16'23
- 12'24
- 13'25
Events by type
| Howard County, MD | FEMA | Score | Rank | Events | Peak | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, MD, thunderstorm and high wind | Relatively High | 89.0 | 6 of 23 | 187 | 2020 (35) | $1.7M |
| Howard County, MD, tornado | Relatively Low | 42.2 | 8 of 23 | 7 | 2019 (2) | $3.0M |
| Howard County, MD, hurricane and tropical storm | Relatively Low | 81.2 | 15 of 23 | 2 | 2020 (2) | $10K |
| Howard County, MD, ice storm | Relatively Low | 59.2 | 7 of 23 | 0 | none | $0 |
| Howard County, MD, winter storm and heavy snow | Relatively High | 92.7 | 6 of 23 | 25 | 2019 (5) | $0 |
| Howard County, MD, heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 89.3 | 6 of 23 | 28 | 2019 (7) | $0 |
Flood claims and flood insurance in Howard County
Howard County, MD: 232 NFIP flood claims in 2015 to 2025, $14.6M paid, median paid claim $47,683.
816 of 99,025 residential structures in Howard County, MD carry an NFIP contract. 991 NFIP policies of any type were in force in Howard County, MD on 8 Sep 2026. Howard County, MD lists 46 repetitive-loss properties, 5 of them severe repetitive loss.
Howard County, MD: claims history, not an outage count.
Flood claims by year in Howard County, MD
flood claims a year, Howard County, MD
- 5'15
- 74'16
- <5'17
- 121'18
- <5'19
- <5'20
- <5'21
- 6'22
- 5'23
- 8'24
- <5'25
| Howard County, MD | Value | Median county | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, MD, claims 2015-2025 | 232 | — | 5 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, paid 2015-2025 | $14.6M | — | 1 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, median paid claim | $47,683 | — | — |
| Howard County, MD, claims per 1,000 homes | 2.3 | 1.9 | 7 of 23 |
| Howard County, MD, homes with flood insurance | 0.8% | 1.2% | 16 of 24 |
| Howard County, MD, policies in force | 991 | — | — |
| Howard County, MD, repetitive-loss properties | 46 | — | — |
Howard County, MD: OpenFEMA NFIP, claims as of 8 Sep 2026, insured share as of 3 Aug 2026; counts under 5 are hidden.
Howard County: flood claims by state, flood hub.
Analyst note on Howard County
Household income in Howard County, MD is $146,982; 86,100 of its 120,066 households own. Howard County, MD touches 21 ZIP areas, 20701 to 21797, about 15,901 residents each. Howard County, MD counts 333,916 residents in 120,066 households.
58,941 of the 120,066 homes in Howard County, MD heat with electricity. Howard County, MD has 124,489 housing units, 4,423 (3.6%) vacant or seasonal, and 33,966 rented homes. Howard County, MD logged 249 storm events for its 333,916 residents.
The median home in Howard County, MD dates from 1989. Homes in Howard County, MD pay $1,533 a year for electricity.
Bill and heat pump calculator, Howard County
Compare Howard County with its neighbours
- Baltimore County sits 18 miles northeast of Howard County, MD with 849,586 residents, 438 storm events, median home built 1973, energy burden 2.0%, income $90,904.
- Carroll County sits 22 miles north of Howard County, MD with 174,318 residents, 228 storm events, median home built 1983, energy burden 1.9%, income $115,876.
- Montgomery County sits 20 miles southwest of Howard County, MD with 1,057,586 residents, 558 storm events, median home built 1980, energy burden 1.4%, income $128,733.
- Prince George's County sits 26 miles south of Howard County, MD with 955,584 residents, 295 storm events, median home built 1977, energy burden 2.0%, income $100,708.
- Anne Arundel County sits 24 miles southeast of Howard County, MD with 590,936 residents, 321 storm events, median home built 1983, energy burden 1.6%, income $120,324.
Cities in Howard County
- Columbia electricity rates105,871 residents
- Ellicott City electricity rates73,737 residents
ZIP codes in Howard County
- 20701
- 20723
- 20759
- 20763
- 20777
- 20794
- 21029
- 21036
- 21042
- 21043
- 21044
- 21045
- 21046
- 21075
- 21104
- 21163
- 21723
- 21737
- 21738
- 21794
- 21797
Maryland: home prices since 2001, planned plants.
Questions on Howard County
Howard County, MD: what do homes pay for electricity?
No single price in Howard County, MD: 2 utilities deliver power and homes pick a plan. Maryland average 17.86 cents per kWh, $166 a month at 929 kWh.
Howard County, MD: how many homes heat with electricity?
Howard County, MD: 58,941 of 120,066 occupied homes, 49.1%, rank 16 of 23.
Howard County, MD: median household income?
$146,982 in Howard County, MD, rank 1 of 23; 333,916 residents, 120,066 households.
Howard County, MD: outage-linked storms since 2015?
Howard County, MD: 249 NWS events, peak year 2019.
Howard County, MD: flood insurance claims since 2015?
Howard County, MD: 232 NFIP flood claims, $14.6M paid, 2.3 per 1,000 homes, 0.8% of homes insured.
How old are the homes in Howard County, MD?
Howard County, MD: median home built 1989; 29.6% predate 1980, 50.5% detached, 24.5% in 5+ unit buildings.
Howard County, MD: share of income for energy?
Howard County, MD homes spend $1,533 a year on electricity, $2,285 on all energy: 1.4% of $169,087; 5.5% for lower incomes.