A Baltimore County legislator wants the Maryland General Assembly to put the brakes on a proposed 70-mile energy transmission line that would cut through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Counties.
State Senator Chris West, a Republican who represents parts of rural Baltimore and Carroll Counties, said he will introduce legislation that would delay a decision on the controversial Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project until 2026.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said West about the hundreds
of people opposed to the transmission line who have packed public hearings. They are concerned what the project would do to the environment and whether portions of their land could be seized.
His legislation would call on the Public Service Commission, which has the final say, to delay a decision until after the 2026 General Assembly session to give the legislature time to study what’s going on.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” West said. “I am informed that this is the first of many that will follow unless we do something about it.”
West said his legislation would establish a “top level task force” to study Maryland’s electrical needs and what the future could hold.
He said it would come up with recommendations by the end of 2025 “as to what we should do in the 2026 session to get us out of the jam we’re in.”
It is unclear whether the General Assembly has the authority to tell the Public Service Commission what to do.
John Willis, a former Maryland secretary of state said, “You don’t want the General Assembly to rule on every case. It’s not their job.”
Willis said if West’s legislation passes, it could raise constitutional questions.
Sen. West said if it turns out the General Assembly does not have the authority to instruct the Public Service Commission, it certainly has the right to request a delay.
“If the General Assembly passes a bill, signed by the governor, requesting that they defer a decision, I would be surprised if they would thumb their nose at the Maryland General Assembly and the governor of the state of Maryland,” West said.
Officials in Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Counties are opposed to the project. Earlier this week, the Baltimore County Council voted unanimously to support a resolution in opposition.
Officials said the transmission line is needed for data centers in Frederick and Northern Virginia.
At a recent public hearing, Michael Powers, who lives in Middle River, and is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 70, told the Baltimore County Council that the project would be built responsibly and would mean hundreds of good paying jobs.
“As we move towards electrification, including the adaptation of electrical vehicles, tankless water heaters and other technologies, our energy infrastructure must evolve to meet the rising demand,” Powers said.
Otherwise, he said, “We will be facing rolling blackouts, brownouts. There will need to be a solution, if not this solution, the next one.”
Last week, the New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) released the proposed route for the transmission line.
The company was picked by PJM Interconnection, which manages the power grid in the District of Columbia and 13 states, including Maryland.