Residents lined up at the Brunswick Volunteer Fire Company in Frederick County Thursday night to tell how the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project would affect their lives.

The 70-mile line through Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore Counties is needed to bring power to data centers according to the company that wants to build it. But residents say it would cut across private properties, locally owned businesses and natural environments, all to bring 96% of that power to out of state data centers.

PSEG representatives told the meeting they had taken environmental risks into consideration, but stated avoiding homes was their primary concern when planning the route.

The representatives explained that the urban development in Frederick County made this task all the harder.

“We settled on route H because it had less impact to homes within 500 feet of the right-of-way,” The representatives said.

Steve Black, the president of the Sugar Loaf Alliance believes public effort will be enough to stop the MPRP. Black named the Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline and other projects, which failed due to massive public push back.

“We’re going to keep fighting this as a community, and we’re going to fight it to a stand still,” Black said.

Tammy Naill spoke of her brother’s experience working on an electrical line when a power surge struck him. Having lost both arms and being paralyzed in one leg, he now lives in fear of the MPRP power line poised to cut across his family farm.

“My brother told me, as he broke down in tears, ‘How am I going to leave the house? With those power lines blocking my driveway, I will be a prisoner in my own home,’” Naill said.

According to the PSEG website, the company plans to submit its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to the Maryland Public Service Commission by the end of 2024.