When Sen. Kevin Harris introduced a bill this week to pave the way for utilities like Baltimore Gas and Electric Company to build and operate power plants, he said the proposal would limit companies to running renewable energy sources like wind or solar farms.

But some observers, including Maryland’s leading ratepayer advocate, say the senator is wrong.

Since Harris, a Prince George’s County Democrat, filed his bill late Monday, climate and ratepayer advocates poring over the controversial legislation have pointed to provisions they say could give the utility unbridled authority to build all manner of power generation sources, from solar farms to nuclear reactors to plants that burn fossil fuels, like coal and natural gas.

It’s not clear whether utility industry lobbyists purposefully crafted a bill to ensure a path for new natural gas or if these provisions in Harris’ bill are an oversight.

Harris did not respond to requests to clarify his legislation.

Exelon, the Chicago-based company that owns Maryland utilities like BGE and Pepco, has pushed aggressively for Maryland to pass legislation allowing it to build new power plants, though the company has emphasized its interest in building climate-friendly sources, such as community solar farms and battery storage.

BGE spokesman Nicholas Alexopulos said Exelon is working with Harris to amend the bill to ”clearly state” that power generation plans filed by utilities would include only batteries and renewable sources.

Still, Alexopulos said the company supports “any progress toward enabling an all-of-the-above approach” to Maryland’s energy challenges.

The proposal comes during an escalating fight in the Maryland State House over the future of the regional power grid. The voracious power demands of artificial intelligence, data centers and increasing electrification are stressing the grid, prompting worry that there won’t be enough power to meet Maryland’s demand.

The Exelon-backed plan is expected to face an uphill battle in Annapolis, where ratepayer advocates and power generators have warned against rolling back a decades-old precedent that prevents utilities from owning power plants.

Senate President Bill Ferguson cast skepticism on the proposal this week, but the bill also got another backer when Del. Pamela Queen, a Montgomery County Democrat, introduced an identical measure in the House chamber.

David Lapp, a state-appointed ratepayer advocate with the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, said the bill “clearly” opens the door for Exelon to build big, often pricier fossil fuel plants. Though the bill states that utilities authorized to build power generation must prioritize renewables, the legislation would also allow for development of “large capacity” generators with capacity greater than 20 megawatts, a broad term that could include gas.

Lapp also pointed to several provisions that he said would allow for an “unprecedented” expansion of utility powers to collect costs from these build-outs from ratepayers — what he called “very anti-consumer” policy.

For one, the bill would provide utilities like BGE with a guaranteed ability to pass off to its customers costs that become “stranded for any reason.” BGE could, for example, build a power plant to meet demand from data centers that never materialize, then charge its customers for the expense, even if they get no benefit from the development, Lapp said.

Alexopulos said these stranded cost provisions are meant to ensure that large projects don’t jeopardize the utility’s health.

Exelon has projected utility-led build-outs of solar and batteries would cost customers a few dollars a month extra in the first few years but lead to longer-term customer savings.