Determine If Your Complaint Can Be Addressed

• It's important to determine if the MD PSC can address your complaint.Christopher Robbins/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  The Maryland Public Service Commission addresses telephone, utility and public transportation complaints brought forth by the public. The MD PSC has a limited purview over problems involving utilities that state and federal authorities jointly regulate. Some of the phone issues the MD PSC monitors include inappropriate telemarketing calls, responsibility for charges involving 900 numbers and the illegal practice of switching a person's phone service without their consent, also known as "phone slamming."
  
  

File a Complaint with the Utility Company

• Speak with the utility company prior to notifying the MD PSC.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  According to the MD PSC, by law, utility companies must first be given the chance to address any complaints that the public has registered. If you fail to receive the assistance you requested or believe you may have been treated unfairly, then you, as the complainant, can proceed by filing a grievance with the MD PSC's Office of External Relations, located in Baltimore.
  
  

File the Proper Online Complaint Form

• The MD PSC offers two online forms for complaints.Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  The MD PSC has several forms available for members of the public who wish to dispute utility or public transportation issues. The MD PSC has one form for utility complaints and another for disputes involving public transportation. File the Transportation Complaint form for any passenger motor vehicle, railway and taxicab problems. File the General Complaint form for any unresolved gas, electric, steam heat, water sewage and landline telephone service issues.
  
  

Attend a Public Hearing

• Maryland residents can express opinions at MD PSC public hearings.Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  Maryland residents have the ability to express utility-related complaints or concerns at MD PSC public hearings and administrative meetings. The MD PSC website has a listing of upcoming meetings. Hearings commonly presented at the MD PSC through the Maryland Office of People's Counsel (MD OPC) include evidentiary hearings that include expert testimony or the cross-examination of witnesses and hearings for public comment. Maryland law mandates that public hearings must be scheduled when utility rates, construction of generating plants or transmission lines are discussed.