Regulators are urged to approve proposed line

This map shows the approximate right of way for route alternative I, one of 10 route alternatives that a contractor hired by grid operator PJM, Public Service Enterprise Group, considered for a 500,000-volt transmission line through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties as part of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project. PSEG has since proposed an adjusted version of an alternative, Route H. PSEG/Arcgis.com/OpenStreetMap Staff

The fight to get a new transmission line approved by Maryland regulators continues to heat up.

The company behind the controversial 70-mile transmission line proposal wants the project to be complete by 2027. The date was included in the application submitted on the final day of 2024, but the chair of the regulatory agency tasked with deciding if the project will move forward is skeptical of the timeline. The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project is a high-voltage transmission line project that would cut through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick Counties. Hours before the end of the year, the Public Service Enterprise Group, or PSEG, submitted the application to the Maryland Public Service Commission, or PSC.

PSEG applied for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, which, if granted, authorizes an applicant to construct an energy generating station or high-voltage transmission line in Maryland. The application outlines concern about severe reliability violations forecasted by PJM Interconnection LLC, which manages the regional power grid. PJM predicts that by 2027, Maryland’s bulk electric transmission system could experience critical issues such as widespread blackouts and voltage collapse if these problems are not addressed.

“No. I mean, this is not a short process,” Frederick Hoover, chair of the Maryland PSC, said during a FOX45 News Your Voice, Your Future Town Hall on Jan. 2. “Even if everybody agreed that this was a good idea, it’s not a short process. It’s a very long process. I think the expectation that the company has put in the application is not realistic.”

Hoover said now that the application has been submitted, the vetting process begins, and several different agencies will complete analyses of the proposal. From environmental factors and aesthetics to route selection, land use, and energy needs will all be investigated, he said. In addition to an analysis of Maryland’s energy needs, other groups will have the chance to intervene in the process too, Hoover noted. There will be an initial hearing, and then public hearings will be scheduled in the communities poised to be impacted by the project.

Maryland’s energy needs continue to grow, according to supporters of the project. In the application, PSEG claims Maryland could see blackouts by 2027. When asked if he was concerned the state could see blackouts by 2027 — since he doesn’t believe the project will be complete by then — Hoover said not exactly.

“While the company is contending that this project is needed for that, they have the burden of proof to convince the Public Service Commission that that’s true,” he said. “I can’t really comment on the validity of their arguments.”

In a statement to FOX45 News, PSEG said PJM — the grid operator in the region — identified the need for the MPRP “to be in service by June 2027 to avoid ‘severe and widespread reliability issues’.” “To meet the PJM-required in-service date of June 2027 and accommodate our construction timeline, we have requested Public Service Commission approval by January 2026,” the PSEG statement continued. “We look forward to working with the Public Service Commission to respond to their questions and address this critical energy infrastructure need for Maryland customer[s].”

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