Westminster, MD, Friday, February 14, 2025 – The Board of Carroll County Commissioners’ (board) latest action in opposing the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP), was submitting a letter to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) voicing opposition to applications filed by PPL Electric Utilities Corporation for electric transmission line projects that are directly related to the implementation of the MPRP.

The letter stated, “the BoC is respectfully submitting its opposition to the PPL Electric Utilities Corporation transmission line projects. According to a Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) press release, these projects involve constructing, rebuilding, and upgrading key transmission lines and associated facilities in parts of Chanceford, East Hopewell, and Hopewell townships in York County, which PPL says are necessary to address transmission reliability issues associated with data center load growth in the mid-Atlantic region. The applications filed by PPL Electric Utilities Corporation are the first steps to implementing the MPRP. The two projects cannot be completed without the other.”

The board continues to acknowledge the need for enhanced electrical power while maintaining the principles of protecting property owner rights, local control, land use, and permitting authority. The proposed projects in Pennsylvania and Maryland do not respect any of these concepts. 

The BoC is leveraging all its influence with neighboring jurisdictions as well as state and national leaders to halt the project in its current form to mitigate any adverse impact this plan could have on the county’s citizens, community, and land.