A Pennsylvania lawmaker near the Maryland border warns that the explosive growth of Northern Virginia data centers and green energy priorities in neighboring jurisdictions is placing a significant strain on her state, which helps stabilize the regional electric grid.

State Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, a Republican, told Spotlight on Maryland on Thursday afternoon in her York, Pennsylvania, office that she is uneasy about her state’s future and its increasing need to export electricity to Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.

“Look, at some point, something is going to give, and I think we’re going to have to put Pennsylvanians first,” Phillips-Hill said. “We can’t continue to carry the load of every other state.”

As the Senate Republican majority leader for her state, Phillips-Hill rose to prominence in Southern Pennsylvania after successfully rallying her constituents to defeat TransSource Energy’s proposed 16-mile Independence Energy Connection power line project.

The TransSource project aimed to transport energy from Pennsylvania into northern Maryland to alleviate congestion and rising electric prices, according to its developer. Like the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP), which is currently under permit consideration by the Maryland Public Service Commission, the TransSource line sought to acquire the necessary rights-of-way through eminent domain.

“We are directly under siege of those companies seeking to site high-voltage power transmission lines to drive that power down to Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington, D.C.,” Phillips-Hill said. “It is a disgrace, an absolute disgrace, because not only do we have the burden of generating that power, not only do we have the burden of having our land taken by eminent domain for these high-voltage power transmission lines, but the way that it is set up, Pennsylvanians have to pay for that infrastructure to deliver the energy to places that absolutely refuse to do what the responsible thing is, which is to generate enough power to meet the needs of its citizens.”

Phillips-Hill pointed to data updated hourly by PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, and Ohio Valley, which shows that Virginia is the largest importer of electricity in its region.

PJM’s import and export hourly map showed that on Friday at 9 a.m., Virginia energy generation was deficient by 6,299 megawatts, leading to the region’s electricity shortfalls. New Jersey followed with an electricity deficiency of 4,268 MW. Meanwhile, PJM’s hourly map showed that Pennsylvania generated an excess of 9,440 MW of electricity during the same hour, likely used to stabilize the grid for the surrounding states.

Despite Maryland’s population being 2.8 times smaller than Pennsylvania’s, the state had the third-highest deficiency in PJM’s region at 1,457 MW.

“There absolutely is an energy crisis, and that crisis is the creation of failed energy policies in states other than Pennsylvania,” Phillips-Hill said.

According to data published by PJM, Pennsylvania has increased its use of natural gas power generation from 22% in 2013 to 59% a decade later. This transition coincided with the rapid closure of the state’s coal-fired power plants to meet clean air regulations and green energy initiatives.

Despite the push for renewable energy sources, data from PJM shows that Pennsylvania’s green generation has remained stagnant over the past decade.

A leader of PSEG, the New Jersey company behind the MPRP development in Maryland, wrote to PJM on Monday, raising alarms about assumptions regarding the energy output of green electricity generation sources.

“As you know, the PJM region has a resource adequacy problem. There simply is not enough generation on the system – or anticipated to be on the system – to serve projected demand for electricity across the region by 2030,” wrote Kim Hanemann, PSEG’s president and chief operating officer. “This concerning assumption includes approximately 11,880 MW of suspended queued generation available for dispatch, of which approximately 1,250 MW is offshore wind generation.”

A PSEG source with knowledge of the letters but unauthorized to publicly discuss their contents said the company is alarmed that PJM is underestimating President Donald Trump administration’s priorities. They said that there is no evidence to suggest that offshore wind and extensive green energy subsidies will occur during Trump’s term, ultimately halting the expected energy generation that projects not yet started could contribute to the system. PJM’s spokesperson, Jeffrey Shields, declined to comment on the questions Spotlight on Maryland sent to the grid operator regarding the letter on Friday afternoon.

“It is our practice to respond formally to the Board and post our response,” Shields said. “We will let you know when that formal response is posted; it will not be today.”

Meanwhile, Phillips-Hill said she expects an ongoing surge of power line transmission projects and contentious disputes over eminent domain to become more prevalent.

The lawmaker added that until Virginia regulates data center energy production or more liberal states shift their priorities to focus on self-generation, residents of Maryland and Pennsylvania will continue to be adversely affected.

“It is elected officials in other states that are behind this,” Phillips-Hill said. “Those power companies, they go where the business is.”

“The failed energy policies of Maryland are driving this kind of development,” Phillips-Hill added.

Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun. Do you have news tips for Gary Collins on this story or others? Send news tips to gmcollins@sbgtv.com.