PSEG’s Power Grab: How a Utility Giant is Bulldozing Maryland’s Public Process

When a private utility company sues your state in federal court before a final ruling is even made, it’s not just a legal maneuver—it’s a message. And the message from Public Service Electric & Gas (PSEG) to Maryland is loud and clear: “We don’t care about your process, your people, or your institutions. We came here to take.”

That’s the real story behind the latest development in the Maryland-Pennsylvania Reliability Project (MPRP), where PSEG has chosen to sidestep the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC)—the very body empowered by our laws to protect ratepayers, landowners, and communities—and go straight to federal court.

Let’s not sugarcoat what this means.

PSEG didn’t wait for the PSC to finish its review. They didn’t trust the commissioners to do the job Maryland taxpayers pay them to do. They ignored our legal process, undermined our sovereignty, and ran to the federal bench like a kid tattling to the principal because they didn’t like the questions being asked.

This wasn’t just a preemptive lawsuit. It was a declaration of disrespect.

From day one, PSEG made it about eminent domain. The very first article in the local press hinted at it. Their first meetings with Hereford residents all but centered on it. They didn’t show up asking, “How can we partner with you?” They showed up warning, “Here’s how we’ll take what we need.”

And now, their lawsuit confirms what many Marylanders suspected all along: this project isn’t about reliability—it’s about control.

If any member of the PSC still believes PSEG is acting in good faith after that hearing, it’s time for a reality check. Maryland’s regulatory process was put in place to serve and protect the people of this state, not to rubber-stamp the demands of out-of-state corporations with billion-dollar agendas.

PSEG’s bypass of the PSC isn’t just a slap in the face to the commission—it’s a slap in the face to every Marylander who believes in fair process, local governance, and state sovereignty.

This is a test. Not just of legal theory, but of our backbone.

Do we stand up for our state institutions, our communities, and our landowners? Or do we roll over and let New Jersey-based utilities set the rules?

Because make no mistake—if PSEG succeeds here, they’ll set the tone for every other outside corporation looking to run roughshod over Maryland. What starts in Hereford won’t stay in Hereford.

If you believe in limited government, property rights, and local control, now’s the time to speak up. Not for or against the project itself—that debate is ongoing—but against a process that tells Marylanders their voices don’t matter.

This isn’t just about power lines. It’s about power.
And who holds it.