It would let the PSC take its time and consider all the issues before making a decision.
Baltimore County Delegate Nino Mangione (R)
Annapolis, Md (KM) A proposed schedule for the request to build the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project is before the Maryland Public Service Commission. It calls for hearings on the proposed 700-kilovolt electric transmission line to he held next year, with a final decision by March, 2027.
Baltimore County Delegate Nino Mangione (R) supports the staff-recommended schedule. He wants the PSC to take its time when deciding on this power line which is expected to extend from northern Baltimore County through central Carroll County and southern Frederick County, ending at the Doubs substation in Adamstown. “It aims to allow much more sufficient time ,I guess you could say, for the collection of all the information, field studies, all the environmental data we’ve heard so much about,” says Mangione.
The company planning to build the project, Public Service Enterprise Group, wants the decision to be made by March, 2026, with a service date of June, 2027. The company points to possible brownouts and blackouts if this project is not constructed and operational. “There’s no reason to prioritize their financial interests over the legitimate concerns of Marylanders, absolutely not,” Mangione responds.
PSC has not yet decided on a schedule to consider the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project.
He also says PSEG has been pushing to speed up the approval process. “PSEG, they’ve evaded and tried to avoid a full discussion with Marylanders. They ignored elected officials in the beginning. I would say they withheld information and failed to be transparent.,” says Mangione.
PSEG was given the contract to construct MPRP by PJM which manages the electricity grid in Maryland and other surrounding states. PJM said the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project is needed to meet the growing power needs of the region.
Mangione says MPRP would transmit electricity through Maryland to power data centers in Northern Virginia. “Let Va get their data centers and power another way,” he says. “Not have to come through Maryland farms, Maryland private residences, our precious land in northern Baltimore County.”
“The Public Service Commission owes a due and fair hearing,” says Mangione. “And a well thought out, timely hearing. Not something that needs to be rushed. But a well thought out, timely hearing.”
By Kevin McManus