This month, during a series of meetings hosted by developer PSEG about the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP) power line, anger boiled over. Over three days, hundreds of residents of Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties stood up and spoke up in firm opposition to the proposed MPRP. If you haven’t been living the nightmare that is the proposed MPRP for the last five months, you may be surprised by the display of anger you witnessed. After all, how can a project with the name “reliability” in the title be on the receiving end of such vitriol?

Let me explain. In July 2024, those who live in the counties impacted by the project were notified that their land could be taken away by eminent domain to build a high-voltage transmission line to power data centers in Virginia. This project, the MPRP, will use private land to construct 140-foot-tall towers with a 150-foot-wide right of way for 70 miles to bring electricity from power-rich Pennsylvania to the data center alley in power-hungry Virginia. Maryland happens to be in the unfortunate position of being stuck in the middle, and the power generated by this 500,000-volt line, often referred to as a giant extension cord, won’t even provide electricity directly to those in the pathway. And we all pay for the costs of this project. Every Maryland ratepayer will see an increase in their utility bills to fund the construction costs. Even if you’re not in the three impacted counties, we all will ultimately pay.

In July, the contractor released an initial 10 routes that put residents across the three counties on edge. For many of us, this news took the joy out of the remaining summer months and loomed large throughout the fall while we waited for an update on the “final” route, and now we are facing a holiday season anticipating when PSEG will submit its permit application to the Maryland Public Service Commission.

While the “final” proposed route selected to “mitigate” impact has been released, it will still directly impact nearly 400 properties, 68% of which are farms and many of those conserved farms. It will impact land under preservation, it will impact people’s homes with the line potentially as close as 100 feet from front doors, it will impact streams and waterways, it will devastate the environment by clear cutting forests, increasing runoff, harming the habitat of animals, reptiles, birds and insects. And keep in mind, the “final” proposed route still can, and likely will, change. None of us are truly safe from this threat.

So, yes, we are angry. The proposed MPRP is antithetical to the American dream. People work hard to live in this part of Maryland. Some of that hard work is devoted to multi-generational farms that have been in families for a century or more. Some of that hard work is toil in careers to save money and realize the dream of living along country roads, in and near forests, in a place where you can see the stars at night, and where the evening noise is limited to insects, owls and the calls of foxes. Some work hard to move here because the peace and tranquility is a respite from the emotional drain found in the modern world.

Imagine waking up one day to learn that all your hard work in the past and dreams for the future are under threat. Some studies say property values can decrease up to 50% when transmission lines are installed nearby. Many are worried about the health impacts of living near a 500,000-volt line. The noise generated by that kind of power is a constant hum that one will never be able to escape. Many are rightfully worried about the loss of farming revenue and the impact to agrotourism operations and organic farm status from the herbicides and insecticides that will be poured across the counties during construction. Others are worried about the possibility for invasive vegetation to take hold given the highway of open land where old forest once stood. With Maryland in the midst of a very dry season, some are worried about the increased incidence of wildfires which could be started by the lines and easily spread under them. I could go on, but hopefully, you can begin to see how utterly devasting the proposed MPRP would be.

To defend against this project and save our homes, farms and dreams, we have to spend our hard-earned money. Not everyone has extra money lying around, and the cost of attorneys could grow into the hundreds of thousands of dollars before we stop this project once and for all. Several landowners have reported they have paused home improvement projects and farm expansion plans. After all, why would anyone spend more money on a home or farm when we don’t know our fates? Local real estate agents are also suffering due to the uncertainty of what this project means to property sales across the three counties. None of us are safe from this threat.

We face the threat of losing our land via eminent domain to allow a $424 million construction project by a publicly traded entity that stands to make a significant profit. All to enable other for-profit entities to power more data centers and add to their coffers. The proposed MPRP is a tax paid by those who can ill afford to pay it. And while we don’t have many options to take action in advance of the permit process at the Maryland Public Service Commission, those whose dreams are under threat also do not have the option to stand idly by and wait to see what happens.

For our anger, I will not apologize. We have every right to be angry. And often, anger is only the mask fear and uncertainty wear.

Joanne Frederick is a co-founder and board president of Stop MPRP, a nonprofit opposed to the construction of the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliablity Project power line. She resides on a farm in Baltimore County.