The Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Energy Solutions (MCIES) is a Maryland-registered 501(c)6 trade association that promotes all energy sources, including “natural gas, propane, hydrogen, and nuclear.” The group has documented ties to several utility companies, including Berkshire Hathaway, Washington Gas, Columbia Gas, Chesapeake Utilities, among others.
Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Energy Solutions’ board consists of several current and former utility executives, including President George K. Anas, who previously worked at Dominion Energy and is employed by Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE). Anas also chairs the Natural Gas Coalition of Virginia. Vice President Peter G. Trufahnestock was previously the director of government affairs at Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, and currently holds the same role at NiSource, Columbia Gas’ parent company. Treasurer Steve Baccino is regulatory and government affairs director at Chesapeake Utilities Corporation and previously worked at the Exelon utilities Delmarva Power and Pepco. Nakhia Crossley, director of regulatory affairs at Washington Gas...
The Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Energy Solutions (MCIES) is a Maryland-registered 501(c)6 trade association that promotes all energy sources, including “natural gas, propane, hydrogen, and nuclear.” The group has documented ties to several utility companies, including Berkshire Hathaway, Washington Gas, Columbia Gas, Chesapeake Utilities, among others.
Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Energy Solutions’ board consists of several current and former utility executives, including President George K. Anas, who previously worked at Dominion Energy and is employed by Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE). Anas also chairs the Natural Gas Coalition of Virginia. Vice President Peter G. Trufahnestock was previously the director of government affairs at Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, and currently holds the same role at NiSource, Columbia Gas’ parent company. Treasurer Steve Baccino is regulatory and government affairs director at Chesapeake Utilities Corporation and previously worked at the Exelon utilities Delmarva Power and Pepco. Nakhia Crossley, director of regulatory affairs at Washington Gas (WGL), is an at-large board member. Secretary Sean Straser is the business agent for Steamfitters UA Local 602.
On February 14, 2022, Brian Quinn, a Maryland-based regulatory attorney at Venable LLP, invited officials to a “launch event” for a new “grassroots group” called the “Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Energy Solutions.” The email invitation, obtained by the Energy and Policy Institute through a public records request, referenced “SB 528/ HB 831 – statewide ban on natural gas.” Quinn asked Doug Taylor, an administrator for Somerset County at the time, to consider joining the group and to provide a logo for the website.
Quinn’s legal clients have included Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), Chesapeake Utilities, and Washington Gas (WGL). He is a registered lobbyist for Chesapeake Utilities and BGE, and previously lobbied for WGL in 2020.
MCIES’ earliest available IRS Form 990 is from 2023. The group’s Maryland business registration was filed on July 21, 2023. MCIES listed its address as 2100 Cove Point Rd, Lusby MD 20657, the same as BHE’s Cove Point LNG facility.
The 2024 IRS Form 990 revealed that Manuel Geraldo, government relations manager at WGL at the time, was a board member. MCIES later amended its articles of incorporation to change its board membership. In March 2025, the organization replaced Kelly Adams, then a managing director of state government and regulatory affairs at Williams, a major methane gas midstream and pipeline operator, with Brandon Todd, WGL’s vice president of government affairs, policy and advocacy. In May 2025, MCIES amended its articles again to remove Todd and replace him with Crossley. Crossley is also listed as a director of the Maryland-District of Columbia Utilities Association, representing WGL.
Sarah Peters, a lobbyist at Husch Blackwell Strategies (HB Strategies), is MCIES’ executive director, according to the organization’s 2024 IRS Form 990. Peters and HB Strategies have lobbied in Maryland on behalf of MCIES in support of methane gas use and in opposition to building electrification and clean heat policies. Peters’ other Maryland clients include Columbia Gas of Maryland, Williams, and Exxon Mobil Corporation, among others.
MCIES has lobbied in response to Maryland legislation related to utility accountability, energy prices, gas infrastructure, and building electrification. In 2025, MCIES supported or was aligned with gas industry positions on at least eight pieces of legislation: HB 1415, HB 1258, SB 256 / HB 49, SB 480 / HB 1417, and SB 474 / HB 579). The group opposed legislation aimed at environmental standards and electrification (SB 149 / HB 128, SB 804 / HB 973, and SB 807).
On December 31, 2025, MCIES filed comments in Maryland Public Service Commission Docket No. 9707-RM92, opposing proposed regulations that would end line extension allowances. Line extension allowances shift the cost of extending gas distribution lines from developers to existing ratepayers. Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel estimated that eliminating ratepayer-funded line extension allowances would avoid nearly $1 billion in rate increases for existing BGE and WGL over the next decade.
Many comments opposing the elimination of line extension allowances, including comments filed on behalf of MCIES, contained metadata suggesting they were authored or filed by utility employees or language that appeared to be copied from other filings or utility-provided templates, according to an EPI analysis.
The docket’s service list identified “ivana.sara@washgas.com” as the email contact receiving docket updates on behalf of several non-utility parties, including MCIES. Ivana Sara is an advocacy specialist at WGL. Sara is an advocacy specialist at WGL.
In 2026, MCIES Executive Director Sarah Peters lobbied in support of HB 958, which would prohibit the Public Service Commission from administering restrictions on discounts or payment plans for gas line connections and extensions.
According to an audit report by the nonprofit research group F Minus, fossil fuel lobbyists complied with the requirement to disclose bill numbers in 55 percent of their disclosures in the first half of 2025. The report identified Peters of HB Strategies, lobbying on behalf of MCIES, as one lobbyist who failed to disclose lobbying activity against the Better Buildings Act (HB 973/SB 804), which would have limited the use of gas in new Maryland buildings. The report also found that MCIES failed to disclose lobbying on HB 210 and HB 1279, two bills related to limiting gas use in new bills.
A 2024 report prepared by Sage Policy Group, Inc. on behalf of MCIES outlined the dangers of “accelerated electrification” and “diminishing consumer choice” in Maryland. The report promoted renewable methane gas and argued against gas bans. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce later cited the report in a response to a petition by the Office of People’s Counsel to revise Maryland gas policy.
MCIES officials have also appeared at industry and business events. President George Anas and Secretary Sean Straser presented at the Annual Summer Convention hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Pipe Trades Association, according to a LinkedIn post by the group emphasizing “the importance of natural gas and the value that diversified energy brings to Marylanders.” In October 2024, the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a joint event with MCIES that featured representatives of Chesapeake Utilities and Columbia Gas of Maryland discussing Building Energy Performance Standard requirements.
