Carroll County leaders have made a direct appeal to President Trump, seeking federal intervention in the heated debate over the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, a proposed 70-mile overhead transmission line. In a letter reported by CBS News Baltimore, Carroll County officials outlined alternative strategies that prioritize modernizing existing electric infrastructure and temporary energy solutions for data centers over new construction.
The county's leadership, including Del. Chris Tomlinson and Carroll County Commissioner Kenneth Kiler, argues that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), under the Biden Administration, has sidelined local jurisdictions, enacted threats of eminent domain against private property owners, and failed to consider community input. "Under the Biden Administration, FERC, PJM and the Department of Energy developed and approved this project without adequately consulting local jurisdictions and have single-handily taken away all local control, using lawsuits and threats of eminent domain against family farms and private property," officials claimed in their letter, according to FOX Baltimore. Despite acknowledging the need for stable energy sources, local representatives like Del. Chris Tomlinson insist that the MPRP is not the answer. "Our state has a major problem, we have put almost all of our eggs in this renewable energy basket," Tomlinson said.
On the other hand, developers Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) and regional grid operator PJM affirm the project's necessity to reduce congestion on the power grid and prevent future blackouts and voltage collapse by June 2027. Faced with opposition, PSEG has already sought and, in some cases, been granted access to private properties for surveys—a move which has been met with resistance and legal pushback from landowners, as per a report by CBS News Baltimore.
The procedural schedule for the Maryland Public Service Commission's review of the MPRP has been set to extend beyond PSEG's requested decision date, giving regulators more time to consider the potential impacts. Public hearings and evidentiary hearings are scheduled throughout late 2026 into early 2027. This delay may enable more thorough analysis and community participation, as the controversy continues to stir worries about environmental damage, property rights disputes, and the direction of Maryland's energy strategy.
