Are clean energy policies in Maryland to blame for PA power price increase?

Energy prices for people across Pennsylvania are going up. The average person could see their bills go up $20-30, and some Pennsylvania lawmakers say it’s due to bad policies in Maryland and other states.

The CBS 21 Investigates team decided to take a closer look at those allegations and spoke with a lawmaker in Maryland and officials with the power grid.

“I think it’s going to become very difficult for people who use PPL, but this is part of a broader issue,” said York County Republican Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill.

It's an issue that’s not as simple as flipping a switch to solve.

The demand for electricity is surging and supply isn’t keeping up.

Pennsylvania is part of the PJM grid with 13 other states and D.C. All of them, relying on each other.

“We’re seeing supply leave the system primarily due to state and federal decarbonization policies and again some economics,” explained PJM Senior VP for Governmental and Member Services, Asim Haque.

To give you an example, let’s take a look south of the Mason Dixon line in Maryland where the Brandon Shores coal powered plant and HA Wagner oil plant both had plans to close this year.

“Pennsylvania and southern York County are constantly under siege because other states are not being responsible,” Phillips-Hill said.

But Maryland Democratic State Senator Benjamin Brooks said that’s not the case.

“It’s hearsay, but perhaps there was an agreement made between one of our environmentalist groups and Wagner,” Brooks said when anchor Candace Scalese questioned why the plants shut down and it if had to do with clean energy initiatives.

“That was a business decision, not a Maryland legislative decision. That impacted the amount of energy available,” he said.

As a whole, Maryland doesn’t generate enough power to keep the lights on itself. Instead, it’s relying on Pennsylvania and other states in the PJM grid for 40% of its electricity.

“Not only are we generating the power and bear the burden of generating power, but we bear the burden of eminent domain taking our land to build these high voltage transmission line projects. We also pay for that infrastructure in PA to get that energy to a place where people are refusing to do the right thing,” Phillips-Hill said. “They’re living in a green energy fantasy land.”

But when you ask Maryland leaders, they say they’re doing the right thing: investing in solar, wind and nuclear power for a clean, green future.

“Our biggest concern is clean energy, that energy that’s not putting any CO2 in the atmosphere. When people talk about clean energy, often times they don’t think of nuclear. Nuclear is clean. We need green energy as well,” Brooks said.

PJM said when the plug is pulled on coal or natural gas plants, “you’re going to have to replace those resources, the replacements which are primarily what’s getting built out today are renewables and battery storage. Those are not one for one replacements.”

“It has to be reliable, baseload generation. Wind, that’s great. Solar, that’s great. It’s not reliable,” Phillips-Hill added.

Moving forward, the PA powerhouse will produce more energy.

For example, the Crane Clean Energy Center (formally Three Mile Island Unit 1) is set to go back online in 2028. And the Homer City Coal Plant in Indiana County is being refitted to become a natural gas plant.

“Look, I got two sons, I want them to breathe cleaner air, I think environmental stewardship is extremely important facet of our existence. But if you want to keep the lights on or if you want to keep them on affordably you have to understand the dynamics of how these different resources operate,” said Haque. “At the end of the day it’s going to require a lot of collaboration, a lot of partnership in order to see families and businesses through what is going to be a challenging time.”

Hill also called for PA Governor Josh Shapiro to reach out and speak with the governors of New Jersey and Maryland about their policies. The CBS21 investigates team reached out to his office for a response.

Shapiro Administration Spokesperson Manuel Bonder:

Governor Shapiro is laser-focused on getting stuff done and taking real action to lower Pennsylvanians’ energy costs. Earlier this year, the Governor held PJM accountable and saved consumers billions on their electricity bills, with crucial support from the Governors of Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, and Delaware. Governor Shapiro continues to bring people to the table to press PJM for long-term solutions and to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable power for Pennsylvanians in the long term.

At the same time the Shapiro Administration has led the fight against higher electricity costs, the Governor has unveiled his commonsense, all-of-the-above energy plan – known as the “Lightning Plan” – to protect Pennsylvania from global instability and extreme weather events by building more power in the Commonwealth. These bills have begun to move forward in the legislature and the Shapiro Administration is working with our legislative partners to get these bills to the Governor’s desk to secure the Commonwealth’s energy future.

CBS 21 also reached out to Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s office for comment but have not heard back.