In Maryland, there is an ongoing battle
between power grid developers and landowners regarding the buildout of power
transmission lines. The developer, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), is
arguing that local residents are responsible for delays in the buildout. The
proposed 67-mile transmission line may miss the in-service date set by PJM
Interconnection, due not to its own delays but those exacerbated by landowners.
However, PSEG has been criticized for a lack of urgency in waiting until
December of 2024 to file its official application with the Maryland Public
Service Commission, especially as it tries to build on a tight timeline.
"Before filing its application in December 2024,
the Company hosted numerous town halls to solicit public comment from property
owners on the proposed route for the MPRP included in the application. There is
no legal basis to suggest that diligent application preparation for a highly
technical and complex public project constitutes a “self-inflicted”
delay," the filing said.
Meeting the deadline is
important, according to PJM, since power demand is way up in the region and the
potential is there for failures, including blackouts and brownouts. Retiring
power plants are another factor. The U.S. Dept. of Energy recently ordered a
delay in the retirement of an oil-burning unit at a Baltimore power plant.
“As a practical matter, the Company’s CPCN application
has been stalled at the Commission not because of when the application was
filed, but because PPRP advised the PSC that the application should be deemed
administratively incomplete because it lacked information from land surveys
that Respondents have blocked from occurring," PSEG's filing said.
Landowner opposition to
energy projects remains strong, especially in certain areas, and this is
affecting the timelines of projects, including this one. It is happening, not
just in the U.S. but in Germany and the EU as well.
"I think it's pretty disturbing that they're blaming
residents for faults of their own," said Brandon Hill, a landowner living
along the route. "I mean, they've gone through this process, and they
haven't really done it the correct way. You know, they brought up eminent
domain in the first meeting. They enraged everybody. They didn't try to work
with anybody. So I really think the blame lies with them."
Court orders had to be issued
to allow surveyors onto private property. Landowners have accused PSEG of
leaning on the courts rather than negotiating properly with landowners.
"Sometimes I like to think PSEG plays the victim so
they can go to the court and have the court settle the argument for them
instead of dealing with the landowner," Debbie Hattery, a resident in
Frederick County said.
Attorneys representing the
landowners have moved to dismiss the case:
“At the same time, attorneys representing landowners
have filed a motion with the PSC to dismiss the case, arguing it can't be an
effective grid solution if it can't meet the in-service deadline.”
“This project is not going to fix the grid problem,
because it can't be in service in time to fix the grid problem," said
Susan Euteneuer, a partner with PK Law.
"PJM and all of the stakeholders should really go
back to the drawing board now to determine what is needed in the near-term
because this project can't be built in time," she added.
That seems to be a strange
argument to me, to say that due to the delays that the landowners are obviously
perpetuating, the project should be abandoned due to those delays.
The issue of landowner
opposition is a very significant one, and solutions like eminent domain will
likely be needed, not just to cure “holdouts” but perhaps to speed up the
process. Since the company held numerous town halls to solicit public comments
from property owners on the proposed route, they should respond to those
comments as able, change the route as able or not able, and proceed toward
construction. Delay is a major goal of opponents of public infrastructure projects,
and with a time-dependent project such as this, the need for the project to be
completed in a timely manner should perhaps be weighed more heavily than usual.
I’m a landowner too and can understand landowner concerns, but needed
transmission projects are very important to power grid reliability, and perhaps
smaller concerns should be relegated to the bigger picture.
References:
As
transmission fight heats up, developers place blame for delays on Maryland
residents. JESSICA BABB | FOX45 News. WBFF Baltimore. November 11, 2025. As
transmission fight heats up, developers place blame for delays on Maryland
residents
No comments:
Post a Comment