Maryland residents voice concerns over BGE's Brandon Shores power line project
More power lines could soon be added to towers in Anne Arundel, Harford, and Baltimore Counties if Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) gets approval for its Brandon Shores Retirement Mitigation Project.
It's part of a year-long disagreement between residents and the company about how to transmit electricity to the counties once the current Brandon Shores Power Plant closes.
"This is the third time, in basically nine years, that BGE has come back into this corridor, the third time, we got mad, we got tired of it. Enough is enough," said Dr. Mark Kukucka, a Kingsville resident.
In July 2024, BGE applied for a permit to move forward with the project that would connect communities in Anne Arundel, Harford, and Baltimore counties to a plant in Southeast Pennsylvania, following the upcoming closure of the Brandon Shores Plant.
But easements from 1978 show the deed using language that allows for one power line, not multiple.
Nick Alexopolus, a spokesperson for BGE, said the residents are misunderstanding the documents.
"The relevant easement documents grant BGE unrestricted ability to construct, operate, and maintain gas and electric facilities, multiple, in that right of way," Alexopolus said.
Residents push back against the powerline project
Kukucka is in good company when he says he does not want any more power lines in his backyard.
"It's the idea that BGE is out there now using easements that don't allow them to do what they want to do," Kukucka said.
Alexopolus explained that the lines will be placed in areas already allotted to BGE use, but residents also cite concerns about wildfires and electromagnetic field exposure.
BGE disputes the dangers, adding that they have looked into other solutions as well, but this is the best option.
"The bottom line is if we're going to do this in a timely fashion in a cost-efficient way that we know will serve our customers, the overhead solution, the design that we have, is the design that we need to pursue," Alexopolus said.
Residents worry that if they don't push back now, the projects will never stop.
"They'll come in next and want to increase the voltage. Then we see they'll come back and want to put in taller towers," Kukucka said. "The second set of towers they're putting in are already going to be taller than the next. Then they'll come back and say we want to zoom these up. We just see the future projects coming along the corridor."
What's next?
A judge in the Public Service Commission will hear testimony from both sides this week to decide whether to grant BGE a permit to move forward.
That decision is expected in the coming months.
Resolution for landowners' impact
The Harford County Council passed a resolution on Tuesday calling on BGE to use all of its efforts to minimize the impact of the powerline project.
Harford County leaders want BGE to settle any issues with land ownership before beginning the work, and even paying property owners in the path of transmission lines.
