In recent weeks, in a press release and interviews, Gov. Wes Moore has begun articulating his views regarding the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (“Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says anger about Piedmont powerline project understandable, but shouldn’t be directed toward him,” Nov. 14, 2024, and “Gov. Wes Moore says Piedmont Reliability Project must ‘put people first’” Nov. 22, 2024). Gov. Moore has now recognized that the MPRP is plagued by serious flaws.

His acknowledgment is an important step toward addressing the concerns of our communities and protecting Maryland’s environment and economy.

“I do want to be very clear, unless there is a real process change, I do not see how it moves forward.” Moore has said. The process, as the governor calls it, is not just the proposed path of the transmission line, but rather PJM’s decision to develop the 70-mile-long MPRP.

Perfunctory measures like rerouting the line from one location to another or holding a few more town hall meetings will fail to resolve the fundamental problems associated with this project.

The transmission planning process at PJM is broken. It is right that the governor should have “grave concerns” with a 70-mile-long slash of destruction through three Maryland counties all for the benefit of the data center industry in Northern Virginia.

The governor has now joined citizens in questioning the benefit of MPRP to Maryland.

The facts are clear: Marylanders stand to gain no benefit from this proposal, yet our state will bear the brunt of its environmental destruction and economic damage to agritourism and farming, our top Maryland industry.

The natural beauty and agricultural resources of our region are invaluable, and they should not be sacrificed for a project that does not serve the interests of our residents. We wholeheartedly believe that this project should not move forward and are grateful that Gov. Moore is beginning to agree.

We urge Gov. Moore to meet with the many citizen groups actively opposing MPRP. In addition to meetings with PJM and PSEG, the governor would benefit from discussions with community groups, like members of the Tri-County Coalition, to understand our concerns. We also urge decision-makers to reevaluate this deeply flawed plan and prioritize sustainable, equitable energy solutions that truly benefit Marylanders and respect the integrity of our communities and ecosystems.

— The Tri-County Coalition to Stop MPRP