When the power goes out, it is not just an inconvenience but also a danger to the community. Hospitals, schools, water treatment plants, and small businesses depend on reliable electricity. Outages can delay vital medical procedures, shut down essential services, and put vulnerable families at risk. As blackouts become more frequent, the potential consequences move from inconvenience to crisis.
The latest push by Democrats in Annapolis is to stop the expansion of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant, which produces nearly 40 percent of the state’s power. In its place, they envision covering farmland with solar panels, many of which contain PFAS “forever chemicals” that can leach into the soil and waterways, posing potential environmental risks, and lining our coasts with wind turbines that are over budget and years behind schedule. These projects have been sold to the public as “clean,” but the reality is that they bring environmental risks while failing to provide dependable power. The very policies meant to protect our environment are threatening it instead.
Working families are bearing the brunt of these failed energy experiments. The EmPOWER Maryland surcharge is a hidden tax on ratepayers. It was supposed to make energy more efficient and affordable, yet costs keep climbing and reliability keeps collapsing. Marylanders are being taxed more and getting less, a situation that is not only unsustainable but also deeply unfair.
There is a better way forward. Maryland has the infrastructure and potential to generate more than enough energy for its own needs. That starts with expanding Calvert Cliffs, protecting and modernizing existing power plants and pursuing an all-of-the-above energy strategy. This strategy, which involves a diverse mix of energy sources including fossil fuels, nuclear and renewables, prioritizes reliability and affordability rather than ideology. It means ending the monthly EmPOWER surcharge on your electric bill that drains taxpayer wallets. Maryland can and should be energy-secure, but that requires common sense, not political posturing.
Brandon Shores is a coal-fired power plant that used to power the Baltimore region. In 2010, Constellation Energy invested nearly $1 billion in upgrades to Brandon Shores emissions system. The USA has more coal reserves than any other nation in the world. The USA is the #1 producer of natural gas worldwide. Powering our nation with coal and natural gas using modern clean technology only makes sense. Unfortunately, liberals in Annapolis are actively trying to ban both coal and natural gas, which will leave us in the dark with empty pocketbooks.
The blackout at Brandon Shores should be a wake-up call to everyone who still believes Maryland’s energy grid is reliable. It is not. If we continue on the current course, more outages are inevitable, more families will be left in the dark, and more businesses will suffer the consequences. Maryland once powered steel mills, shipyards, and entire industries. Today, it struggles to power itself. This is not progress. It is a failure. We cannot afford to ignore this problem any longer. Marylanders deserve better than rolling blackouts, rising bills and empty promises.
