Maryland electricity supply so low, out-of-state power needed after leaders shut 8 power plants

Opponents of Maryland elected officials' energy-choking Green New Deal policies have been vindicated on two fronts as the new year gets underway. Among the arguments made by businesses, energy companies, and Republicans in the Maryland General Assembly was that monthly utility bills would rise for Maryland residents. Sure enough, late last week, electric utility Pepco informed customers that their bills would rise at least 5% beginning this month, due to Maryland officials' approval of a new surcharge on electric and gas utilities last year. Maryland Green New Deal opponents also predicted that legislators' plan to force the closure of 8 power plants across the state, and require electricity to increasingly be purchased from "green" sources, would not only add to rate hikes, but reduce the state's electricity supply. Now we have confirmation that Maryland's electricity supply has fallen so low, and so inadequate to meet demand, that more electricity will have to be imported from out-of-state at great cost.

PJM, which operates Maryland's electric grid, has contracted with the Public Service Enterprise Group to construct a new, 70-mile power line through Carroll, Frederick, and Baltimore counties. The estimated cost of construction will be $424 million, The Washington Post reported. PSEG stated in a press release that Maryland's electric grid will face "severe and widespread reliablity issues as determined by PJM" if the new power line is not constructed. PJM Vice-President Paul McGlynn cited the retirement of the eight Maryland power plants as the reason out-of-state power is now needed, as demand simultaneously rises.

McGlynn predicted that Maryland electric utility customers would experience "extreme conditions such as system collapse and blackouts if [the lack of electricity supply is] not addressed." This is exactly what opponents of Maryland officials' Green New Deal predicted would happen, and has already been experienced by customers in California and many developing countries like Cuba. 

The shuttered Gen On power plant in Dickerson, MD

One would be on solid ground in making a new prediction: that out-of-state power will be more expensive than power generated in Maryland, and certainly more expensive than that formerly generated by the eight coal-fired power plants our elected officials shut down statewide in recent years. Those "boardwalk prices," like the new EmPOWER MD surcharge, will be passed onto ratepayers. 

Our elected officials are clueless about how the business world works, as evidenced by their failure to attract major corporate headquarters to Maryland this century. But they don't even understand that new costs and taxes on business aren't paid by corporations; they are passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.

The new power line may wind up crossing farmland and sensitive environmental areas, which has raised opposition to the proposal by groups such as Stop MPRP. PSEG said that its current proposed route for the power line was chosen because it would have the least such impacts, and avoid passing near as many homes and businesses as possible. The irony is that the disruptive new power line might not have been necessary if the eight power plants had been allowed to continue operating, and if Maryland elected officials had spent less time on woke virtue-signaling legislation, and more time exploring construction of new nuclear plants instead of ineffective and costly wind power. 

We've seen how dereliction of duty by our elected officials can have negative knock-on effects down the road in the past, with our unfinished freeway system. Cancellation of the new Potomac River crossing connecting the InterCounty Connector with the Dulles area in Virginia, the Rockville Freeway, and the M-83 Highway resulted in more recent proposals for widening I-495 and I-270 that would impact or demolish homes along those interstates. If those master plan highways had been built, the recent Express Lanes proposal would not have been necessary.

Instead, the Maryland Green New Deal energy policies that have yet to have any major impact on climate change or air quality could wind up causing actual negative impacts on the environment in Carroll, Frederick, and Baltimore counties. Despite closing eight power plants, Maryland's spikes in ozone and particle pollution "are the worst they've been in 25 years," the American Lung Association reported in 2024. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Maryland 2025 utility bills increase under Wes Moore, MD Gen. Assembly plan

"We helped lower utility bills," Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) declared in a New Year's Eve video recapping the 2024 legislative "accomplishments" of his office and colleagues in the Maryland General Assembly. As Maryland utility customers are beginning to realize as 2025 begins, Moore lied. Pepco has just informed customers that, beginning this month, their electric bills will be increasing by at least 5%. The reasons? Laws passed by our elected officials in Annapolis.

While our elected officials try to hide new taxes and fees by having businesses collect them, such as bag taxes, Pepco has been upfront in their billing communications about government being the reason for the new charges and increases. In their message to customers, Pepco cites the new "EmPOWER MD" surcharge of 4% that was rammed through the legislature and signed by Moore in 2023. Moore and those in the legislature who supported the increased surcharge to energy utilities knew full well that the amount would be passed on directly to utility customers. This is theft, not "efficiency."

A second reason Pepco cites is that it is facing a 1% increase in its supply costs, a direct result of "supply and demand by generator plants." Why is the supply of electricity down? Because the same Maryland legislature has ordered the closure of not one, not two, but eight coal-fired power stations across the state over the last 13 years. With AI, data centers, and electric vehicles contributing to an all-time high in energy demands, Maryland is trending in the opposite direction of dwindling supply and rising costs.

In claiming to have lowered residents' utility bills, Gov. Moore lied. His claim would earn Four Pinocchios, if The Washington Post were to fact check our local elected officials' frequent false claims. They don't. Kudos to Pepco for telling the truth.

Assault at Gaithersburg grocery store

Montgomery County police were called to a grocery store in Gaithersburg on December 30, 2024, after someone reported having been the victim of an assault there. The assault was reported at a supermarket in the 200 block of Kentlands Boulevard at 8:52 AM Monday. There is a Giant grocery store at 229 Kentlands Boulevard.

Regal Germantown signage removed (Photos)

Signage has been stripped from the facade of the former Regal Germantown cineplex at 20000 Century Boulevard. It closed about a month ago. The building is for sale, and is likely to be redeveloped as housing unless another theater chain takes it over. Regal Germantown started this century as a Hoyts Cinema. One of the newest theaters in Montgomery County at that time, it stagnated into obsolesence over the next two decades, failing to add the upgrades and amenities like recliners that are standard circa 2024.

Will Montgomery Village store be saved in last-minute Big Lots deal?

All Big Lots stores across America were anticipated to close in the near future, after the company filed for bankruptcy and a potential sale of the chain fell through. However, last Friday, Big Lots reached a tentative agreement to transfer between 200 and 400 of its stores to a firm called Variety Wholesalers, via a sale to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners. Neither party has yet announced which specific stores will be saved in the deal, including the Big Lots at the Montgomery Village Center, the last one remaining in Montgomery County.

There is reason for optimism, though. The other chain stores operated by Variety Wholesalers are concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern states. It would be logical for Variety to focus on acquiring Big Lots stores located in those regions, with the Montgomery Village location being one.

The sale agreement will still have to be approved by the bankruptcy court."We are pleased to reach this strategic agreement with Big Lots and partner with Variety Wholesalers to achieve a path forward that allows Big Lots to continue to serve customers with extreme bargains and an outstanding shopping experience," Gordon Brothers Head of North America Retail Rick Edwards said in a statement.

Maryland AG office investigating Gaithersburg death in police custody

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced that his office's Independent Investigations Division (IID) is beginning an investigation into the death of a person who was in Gaithersburg City police custody on the night of December 24, 2024. Officers were dispatched for a disturbing the peace call in the 300 block of N. Summit Avenue at 10:15 PM that night. Arriving at the scene, they found a man covered in blood on the ground outside of an apartment building.

The man was conscious, but acting erratically, Brown said. After the man rose from the ground and began to walk away from the scene, he was grabbed by the officers, and placed back on the ground. The officers called for assistance from Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Services, and held the man down while awaiting their arrival. The man then lost consciousness, and stopped breathing. Officers attempted to render lifesaving care, which was taken over by MCFRS personnel after they arrived at the scene.

MCFRS transported the man to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Brown said. His office said it will release body camera footage from the officers within 20 days of the incident, unless more time is needed for the investigation, or to contact family members of the decedent. 

Gaithersburg office building broken into

Montgomery County police responded to a report of a burglary at an office building in Gaithersburg Monday night, December 23, 2024. The incident took place at a building in the unit block of Fedor Avenue at 11:39 PM Monday. Officers responding to the scene found evidence of forced entry.