Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity - Overhead Transmission Lines - Grid Enhancing Technologies
Summary
SB952 amends Maryland’s Public Utilities law governing certificates of public convenience and necessity (CPCNs) for overhead transmission lines. The bill requires the Public Service Commission, when reviewing an application for a new overhead transmission line, to consider the use of “grid enhancing technologies” as an alternative to building the line. The bill defines grid enhancing technologies broadly as infrastructure, hardware, or software that increases the capacity, efficiency, reliability, or resilience of a new or existing transmission line, and specifically includes high-performance conductors and storage used as transmission.
The bill also keeps existing CPCN review requirements in place, including consideration of electric service demand, alternative routes for new lines, and ongoing compliance with PJM, NERC, and FERC obligations. In addition, applicants must identify whether a proposed line would use an existing brownfields site, an existing easement, or an existing tower structure or components. The act takes effect October 1, 2025.
Impact
SB952 would change the criteria the Public Service Commission must evaluate before approving overhead transmission line projects under Public Utilities Article § 7-207. It does not eliminate the need for a CPCN, but it adds a new planning and review requirement that could influence whether utilities propose traditional line construction or instead use grid-enhancing technologies to increase transmission capacity. The bill may affect electric utilities, transmission developers, ratepayers, and project siting decisions by encouraging more efficient use of existing infrastructure and potentially reducing the need for new overhead lines in some cases.
Sentiment
The bill text and available context show no recorded committee debate or vote history, so there is no documented opposition or support in the provided materials. Based on the bill’s sponsors and its policy focus, the measure appears to be framed as a modernization and grid-efficiency proposal rather than a controversial restructuring of utility regulation. Its emphasis on reliability, resilience, and alternatives to new construction suggests a generally constructive policy intent.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is whether requiring the Commission to consider grid enhancing technologies could slow transmission approvals or impose additional analytical burdens on applicants, versus whether it would appropriately force utilities to consider lower-impact alternatives before building new overhead lines. Another possible issue is the practical availability, cost, and effectiveness of these technologies compared with conventional transmission expansion. No specific stakeholder objections or support statements are included in the provided record.