PSC chair: PJM will ‘make sure the lights stay on, whether or not’ MPRP is built

Contractor PSEG has proposed a route for the MPRP. SOURCES: PSEG, OPENSTREETMAP

The chair of Maryland’s Public Service Commission discussed the ongoing application process for the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, as well as the staunch opposition from various groups across the state, during a Thursday interview with FOX45 News’ Mikenzie Frost.

The MPRP is a proposed 70-mile transmission line that would cut through parts of Baltimore, Frederick, and Carroll counties, and has faced fierce blowback from residents and lawmakers alike.

As for where the application process currently stands, PSC Chair Frederick Hoover outlined many steps still to come before the transmission line could be approved.

“So the process started, triggered by the application of PSEG made in late December. The second part of the process is determining the participation level. We sent out a notice that this application had been filed, and we requested that anyone who thinks they have an interest in this to file a petition to intervene,” Hoover said.

“We actually had over 70 entities file petitions to intervene. We are reviewing those petitions to intervene. We’ve asked for comments on their suggested process, and then we will have what’s known as a pre-hearing conference where we will make a determination as to who is granted intervention status and then set a schedule for hearings on this application,” he added.

“And there will be two types of hearings. There’ll be evidentiary hearings before the Public Service Commission’s office here in Baltimore, and there will be public hearings in the affected areas. So the three counties that the line has proposed to go through, those hearings will include comments from the public on that and also experts from, not only the applicant, but also the seven state agencies that are reviewing the project along with our technical staff and the Office of People’s Council, who is the advocate for ratepayers in this. The two questions that we have to decide one, whether or not this project should be built,” Hoover said. Hoover said he expects the pre-hearing conference to take place sometime in early May. As for the project’s overall timeline — where parent company PJM has said it wants the MPRP up and operational by 2027 — Hoover was less certain.

“We are gonna follow the process that’s established in Maryland state law for examining this proposal,” Hoover said. “We’re gonna play out the process as long as it takes to make the decision on this. This is one of the most consequential decisions when it comes to energy that we make, the building of energy infrastructure, whether it’s a transmission line or a power plant. It’s a fairly detailed process, and we’re going to stick to the process as required by that.”

While PJM has said that the 2027 timeline is due to operational need based on a looming threat of rolling blackouts, Hoover responded that the company should “do what needs to be done in order to make sure the lights stay on whether or not this project is constructed.”

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