Maryland’s working families didn’t wake up one morning and see 44% higher electric bills because of a memo from PJM. They didn’t get hit with budget-crushing rate spikes because a regional grid operator suddenly forgot how to do its job. They’re paying more because for years, Annapolis has pursued an energy agenda long on slogans and short on common sense.
Yet last week, when Governor Wes Moore rolled out his new executive order on “affordable energy,” he skipped right over the root cause. Instead, he blamed PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator responsible for keeping electricity flowing to 67 million people. According to Moore, PJM’s latest capacity auction, which fell short for the 2027–2028 period, is proof of systemic failure. But that’s not what the facts show, and it’s certainly not what Maryland Republicans have been warning about for years.
Here’s the truth: Maryland’s energy crisis was created in Annapolis, not in PJM’s control room.
When You Kill Baseload Power, You Get Higher Bills
Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey said it plainly: Maryland’s Democratic mandates “forced PJM to operate within the shortsighted mandates imposed by states like Maryland.”¹ He’s right. We shut down reliable baseload power, including natural-gas and coal facilities, before we had anything capable of replacing them. That’s not a plan. That’s wishful thinking dressed up as policy.
Governor Moore still can’t bring himself to utter the words natural gas, even as Maryland imports 40% of its electricity from neighboring states.² We’re not a clean-energy leader; we’re a dependent state propped up by Pennsylvania and West Virginia because we refuse to produce the power we actually use.
Marylanders aren’t paying more for electricity because PJM had a bad auction. They’re paying more because Annapolis dismantled reliability and replaced it with press releases.
Data Centers and Electrification Are Surging, But Supply Isn’t
The Baltimore Sun’s reporting makes this crisis even clearer. Residential electric rates have jumped 44% since 2020,³ driven heavily by soaring electricity demand from data centers and statewide electrification mandates. These facilities which power cloud computing and artificial intelligence consume enormous amounts of electricity. Moore supports their growth, but he hasn’t explained how Maryland is supposed to power them without reliable generation.
You don’t meet 21st-century demand with 18th-century power fantasies.
PJM has already approved more than 170 gigawatts of new projects, yet many are stalled because of state permitting delays⁴, the very bottlenecks Governor Moore refuses to discuss. If Maryland streamlines permitting and embraces reliable baseload sources such as natural gas, the problem will improve quickly. If not, the only thing that will keep rising is your utility bill.
Moore’s Executive Order: A Band-Aid Without the Surgery
The WMAR-2 News coverage of Moore’s announcement made the order sound ambitious: more oversight, more grid modernization, more advisory councils.⁵ These are fine ideas, but none of them deal with the fundamental problem: Maryland’s refusal to support the production of reliable, affordable energy.
Instead of restoring balance to our energy portfolio, Moore is creating a new “Energy Advisory Council,” a new “Energy Subcabinet,” and a new “Site-Readiness Initiative,” all of which may take years to deliver results. That’s not leadership, that’s bureaucracy posing as progress.
People can’t pay their bills with councils and conferences.
Ready: Moore Was “Asleep at the Switch”
Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready cut to the heart of the issue: Moore is “so focused on national politics and trying to end-run the congressional map” that he missed the warning signs flashing across Maryland’s energy system.⁶ Instead of strengthening the grid, the administration has spent two years chasing national headlines, indulging progressive fantasies, and fighting redistricting battles.
While Moore was busy positioning himself for Sunday-show glory, Marylanders were watching their bills soar.
A Common-Sense Path Forward
Maryland needs an energy policy grounded in reality:
1. Restore baseload power.
Natural gas must be embraced, not ignored, as part of a balanced generation portfolio.
2. Streamline permitting.
If state regulators can approve cannabis licenses faster than power plants, something is wrong.
3. Hold utilities accountable not scapegoats.
Oversight is needed, but political blame games are not a substitute for policy.
4. Stop turning Maryland into an electricity importer.
A state that shuts down its own power plants but cheers data-center expansion is writing a recipe for blackouts.
5. Adopt a reliability-first energy strategy.
Reliability is not optional. It’s the foundation of affordability.
Republicans are offering solutions grounded in engineering reality, economic math, and everyday experience. Democrats are offering excuses, consultants, and capacity-market conspiracy theories.
Maryland families deserve better than slogans and scapegoats. They deserve reliable power, affordable bills, and leaders who understand that energy policy isn’t a social experiment it’s a necessity.
It’s time for Maryland to stop pretending and start producing.
Endnotes & Citations
- WMAR-2 News, “Gov. Wes Moore signs order aimed at making Maryland energy more affordable, December 2025.
- Baltimore Sun, “Moore orders push to curb rising utility bills as region’s power demand grows”, Dec. 19, 2025.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- WMAR-2 News, ibid.
- Maryland Senate Republican Caucus Press Release, “Hershey, Ready Respond to Governor Moore’s Energy & Utility Rate Executive Order”, Dec. 19, 2025.
Jeremy Gordon is a contributor for Direct Line News and can be reached at Jeremy.Gordon@mcgopclub.com
Direct Line News is a Maryland-based free-access publication committed to the Republican reform tradition.
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