TOWSON, MD—Baltimore County will formally intervene in the Maryland Public Service Commission’s review of a proposed high-voltage transmission line project, County Executive Kathy Klausmeier announced Monday.

The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project would involve construction of a 145-mile-long overhead transmission line from a site near Conowingo Dam through Baltimore and Carroll counties to a substation in Pennsylvania. The Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project is being developed by PSEG Renewable Transmission.

Klausmeier said the county does not have the legal authority to stop the project, but she said in a statement that the intervention will allow the county to continue “to share serious concerns about its impacts and protect our county’s agricultural legacy and land preservation interests.”

The county’s concerns stem from the project’s potential impact on county-owned easements, including those under the Baltimore County Agricultural Land Preservation Program, forest buffers and conservation easements.

In a letter to PSEG in January, Klausmeier requested the company perform an analysis to identify potential impacts to county-owned easements. PSEG responded on Jan. 31 with a summary of its findings, which indicated a “significant impact” on easements, according to the county.

On December 31, 2024, PSEG submitted an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (case number 9773) to the Maryland Public Service Commission.

The Baltimore County Council unanimously passed a resolution in October opposing the project and encouraging the Maryland Public Service Commission to reject it.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

Image via PSEG