Furious Marylanders pack public meeting about new electric corridor: 'Left in the dark'

MONKTON, Md. (WBFF) — Tensions and temperatures were hot on Tuesday as Marylanders attended the first information session about a sweeping electric grid expansion slated to cut 70 miles across three counties.

A traffic jam along York Road in Monkton led to a line of livid property owners wrapping around the Hereford Volunteer Fire Department. Representatives of the New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) soon shouted that the fire hall was at capacity, which further bothered attendees.

There is a part of me that wonders why I am standing outside in the heat to hear well-trained people tell me ‘that’s why we are here’ but not providing answers to my questions,” a man requesting to be identified as Ralph said.

Ralph was one of over 300 people who attended the open house-style information session about the little-known Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP), which FOX45 News first reported on in June.

Del. Nino Mangione, R-Baltimore County, said he attended the information session with multiple legislative aides to learn more because he has “also been left in the dark.”

I came to this event to learn about this project and what is going on,” Del. Mangione told FOX45 News while standing in the packed fire hall. “What I see right now is what I believe to be a total lack of transparency. These people should not get off the hook without answering questions directly from my constituents.”

“All I received was a message about this potential and to meet with lobbyists; I didn’t want to meet with any lobbyists, I wanted to meet with the people,” Del. Mangione added.

FOX45 News sent questions to the registered lobbyists listed in public records representing PSEG. Members of the Annapolis-based lobby group Perry, White, Ross and Jacobsen did not immediately respond to questions sent on Tuesday afternoon. This article will be updated with any responses received.

Jason Kalwa, the director of PSEG, told FOX45 News outside the event the motivation behind the power line expansion project is because of “real reliability issues with the grid.”

“We are here today to talk about one of the quadrants that was proposed as part of a system of projects,” Kalwa said. “Ultimately we have a route that we need to select and we have multiple routes we are looking for feedback on from the public.”

Kalwa said potentially hundreds of Marylanders will be affected by this project. When pressed by FOX45 News if eminent domain, or the government using its authority to seize private property, will be used to advance this project, Kalwa did not directly answer.

I would say we really prefer not to,” Kalwa said.

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Mt. Airy farmer and vineyard owner Adam Frey told FOX45 News the project could cut through his Frederick County property.

“As a business owners, I could potentially lose millions of dollars,” Frey said. “Once those power lines are in, they are never going away.”

Frey said he is concerned this project will not benefit him or fellow Marylanders.

This transmission line will not feed our farm, it will not feed any of my neighbor’s farms, it will not feed anybody in our entire region,” Frey said. “It is literally going down to a data center that is being built in Urbana.”

Frey added that he believes the series of projects mentioned is to help move electricity regionally to fuel Northern Virginia's power needs.

“This has to be sold as we are moving [electricity] to Urbana and don’t mention Northern Virginia whatsoever,” Frey said. “Then they can easily move power into Northern Virginia.”

Kalwa did not directly respond when asked by FOX45 News if this electric grid expansion will be used to fuel data centers in Maryland or Northern Virginia.

“It’s difficult to answer that because it is really the highway of electricity,” Kalwa said. “PMG identified 7,500 megawatts of load growth and part of the load growth is data centers.”

“It’s Maryland and Virginia but, to be clear, there is also a lot of generation retirements,” Kalwa added.

A spokesperson for PSEG abruptly ended the interview with Kalwa after FOX45 News asked about data centers.

The electrical infrastructure project comes a month after Gov. Wes Moore signed the Critical Infrastructure Streamlining Act of 2024. This law reduced the regulations for backup power generators that data centers use during power outages, according to the governor’s office.

Marylanders are moving in partnership to build a more competitive state through historic legislation designed to lift everyone up,” Gov. Moore said during the bill’s signing ceremony.

“This bill will help us create a more hospitable business environment,” Gov. Moore added.

The deregulation effort comes as the Moore administration seeks to achieve the governor’s goal of making all new passenger vehicles sold in the state zero-emissions by 2035. A spokesperson for Gov. Moore did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Frey said he believed people have been “sold out” for this project.

“There are a lot of people here that are pretty upset right now,” Frey said. “I have not talked to a single person here that’s smiling about it.”