Rolling Blackouts Are Now A Real Threat In Maryland

By Brian Chisholm | Delegate, District 31

Editor’s note: PJM’s emergency request to keep the Wagner station online was approved after Delegate Chisholm submitted this column.

Dear neighbor,

On July 21, federally regulated regional grid operator PJM filed a request for a Federal Power Act section 202(c) emergency order with the Department of Energy for the Wagner 4 electric generator station in Anne Arundel County.

PJM is asking the feds for this order because they have concluded that an imminent electric reliability emergency may exist that could threaten transmission reliability in the BGE zone due to a shortage of available electric generation supply in the region.

The Maryland Freedom Caucus Was Right

The Maryland Freedom Caucus has steadfastly and consistently warned that extreme environmental policies, radical green activism, and bureaucratic red tape, implemented by the Maryland General Assembly, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), and groups like the Sierra Club, would push our state into an energy supply crisis.

Now, that warning has become reality.

Maryland Is On The Brink Of Rolling Blackouts

PJM Interconnection has issued a dire warning:

A power emergency in Maryland is imminent. Its request for an emergency federal order proves what we’ve been saying all along:

• Wagner Unit 4, a power plant in Anne Arundel County, is the only generating facility capable of preventing blackouts in the BGE zone under certain emergency conditions.
• That unit is restricted by a 2020 environmental consent agreement pushed by the Sierra Club and MDE, which limits its operation to 438 hours per year.
• As of today, the plant has only 80 hours of runtime left in 2025 — less than four days of emergency power before the lights go out.
• Keep in mind, we are only a little over halfway through the year!

Without Relief, Rolling Blackouts Could Begin In 2025

PJM has stated, in no uncertain terms, that without the ability to operate Wagner 4, it may have to shed firm load, a sanitized way of saying forced blackouts for homes, schools, hospitals and businesses in Maryland.

This isn’t a conspiracy or political posturing. It’s a direct consequence of Maryland’s war on energy reliability, where traditional power generation is vilified, shut down or handicapped without any realistic replacement ready.

The Price Of Virtue Signaling: Skyrocketing Costs

Environmental extremists and their legislative allies have created an artificial scarcity of power in Maryland. The results?

• Maryland now faces some of the highest electricity and utility costs in the country.
• We’re running extension cords across state lines, importing electricity from coal and natural gas plants in other states — while shutting down our own.
• We’re asking the federal government to override Maryland’s own regulations just to keep the grid from collapsing.

This Crisis Was Entirely Avoidable

The Maryland Freedom Caucus has consistently fought to:

• Keep reliable power plants like Wagner fully operational.
• Cut through red tape that strangles energy infrastructure projects.
• Bring common sense to our energy strategy — not ideology.
• Put ratepayers, not radical activists, at the center of energy policy.

Instead, Annapolis chose environmental absolutism, locking our state into a model that values carbon credits more than public safety and economic security.

A Wake-Up Call To Maryland Voters And Lawmakers

The Wagner Unit 4 situation is not just a technicality; it’s a symptom of failed leadership. Marylanders are now facing the real possibility of going without power because the Maryland Democrats and the governor have prioritized headlines and lawsuits over heat and light.

The Maryland Freedom Caucus is renewing its call for:

• Immediate suspension of artificial runtime limits during emergency periods.
• Maryland to immediately withdraw from the disastrous and voluntary Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which has driven up energy costs, punished ratepayers, and compromised grid reliability in the name of ineffective climate symbolism.
• A rollback of anti-energy mandates that put lives and livelihoods at risk.

We can no longer afford to let radical environmental groups dictate Maryland’s energy future. The time for action — real, reliable, commonsense action — is now.