Maryland looks for ways to flip switch on new power plan

Governor announces plans to target power usage after swearing in top energy official

The news conference followed the swearing in of Malcolm D. Woolf, 39, as the new director of the Maryland Energy Administration.

‘‘We have been drifting when we should have been making progress,” the governor said. ‘‘Under Malcolm’s leadership, we will drift no more.”

O’Malley highlighted the efforts of California, where a power crisis caused rolling blackouts in 2000 and 2001 and helped oust Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in 2003. That state has been able to reduce its per-capita demands on power, he said.

‘‘It’s not one thing; it’s hundreds and hundreds of actions,” O’Malley said.

In fact, if the average Marylander used the electricity of the average Californian, consumers would save 42 percent on their electric bills, Woolf said after his swearing-in.

The energy administration is a $6.4 million enterprise with a mission to improve energy efficiency, reduce reliance on foreign fuel and improve the environment. It also directs fuel allocations during emergencies.

‘‘We need to make sure the rules work for consumers and not just the large energy companies,” Woolf said.

Woolf is moving to Anne Arundel County, a jurisdiction at the center of the ongoing controversy over Baltimore Gas and Electric’s power rates. On June 1, BGE electricity bills increased by 50 percent.

In addition to reducing energy demand, the summit will focus on congested transmission lines and future, cleaner sources of power, O’Malley said. The site of the summit has not been announced.

Also that week, the Public Service Commission has scheduled a two-day conference to study more technical aspects of the state’s power needs.

O’Malley also signaled that Maryland may rely more heavily on nuclear energy.

‘‘I don’t want to presuppose outcomes,” the governor said Tuesday when asked about the reactors BGE operates at Calvert Cliffs. He said there has been a ‘‘shift in our thinking” over the past 20 years on the role nuclear energy should play.

In the past, O’Malley also has touted ‘‘green building” initiatives to reduce energy requirements for state structures. Legislation that would have put such measures in place was amended to create a council to study them.

‘‘Once we get through the budget crisis, members of the General Assembly will be willing to invest in these green building technologies for state buildings,” O’Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said.

In a separate event this week, the governor outlined efforts to reduce energy consumption. The plan includes replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights, an energy-efficiency loan program, a purchase program for ‘‘Energy Star” products and requiring new state buildings to use less electricity.

O’Malley also announced Hatim N. Jabaji of Baltimore as the director of the Office of Energy Performance and Conservation. Jabaji most recently led Baltimore city’s Energy Office.