PARKTON, Maryland – In Baltimore, Frederick and Carroll counties, many people fear their land will lose value or they may lose their land altogether.
They are protesting against plans for a new route for power transmission lines near their homes.
On Wednesday evening, people in Baltimore County filled a hearing to voice their opinions and get answers about the project.
Hereford High School hosted the latest in a series of town hall meetings Wednesday evening to discuss the potential for 70 miles of new high-voltage power lines.
Delegate Nino Mangione chaired the town hall meeting because he was against the project and felt the need to intervene, he says.
“The more I learn about this, the more I realize what is really at stake here and that my job as a delegate is to represent the people,” Mangione said.
The population he represents also sees the project in a similar way: they do not want the power lines at all and many are hoping for alternatives.
“It’s not safe. It’s not efficient. It’s not a good idea. So what’s the alternative? Why not build solar panels, wind turbines and a backup natural gas plant right where the data center is going to be?” said Jolie McShane of Baltimore County.
On Wednesday evening, representatives of the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) presented a PowerPoint presentation explaining the details of the process and the reasons for building the transmission lines.
According to project manager Jason Kalwa, PJM hired PSEG to install these lines because the company predicted a significant power outage for the company’s data centers in 2027 and wanted to prevent it.
Kalwa also says that the route presented so far is not set in stone.
“The route is not final. Let me be clear: we have not applied for a single permit. The route will not technically be final until we get our CBBCN permit and also negotiate the land rights with the land owners,” Kalwa explained.
However, many people are not convinced that the route will be significantly changed, and people like Steve Novotny, who lives on property along the route of the proposed power lines, are concerned about expropriation law.
“I’ve lived on this land for generations, and when someone comes along and says, ‘Hey, you know, we want you to give up your land so we can provide electricity to Virginia because we need to meet their electricity needs,’ a lot of people don’t like that,” Novotny said.
But Kalwa says the company has no interest in expropriation, although it would have the option to do so if it were granted building permits for the project.
“I can tell you, I have rarely seen it used and we have no intention of using it.”
Speaking of permits, PSEG says it plans to file permits with the Maryland Public Services Commission in December of this year. If the permits are approved, PSEG will schedule a second set of public meetings in 2025.
