Maryland Pushes Back on $2 Billion Grid Upgrades

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2026 – Maryland officials are challenging an estimated $2 billion in electricity transmission costs that they say are being unfairly shifted onto state residents and businesses.

The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission against PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator serving 13 states and Washington, D.C. 

The state argues that PJM’s cost allocation formula improperly requires Maryland ratepayers to subsidize transmission projects primarily driven by data center expansion in other states.

“Without FERC action, Maryland customers face paying billions for transmission infrastructure that PJM is advancing to benefit data centers,” said David Lapp, Maryland people's counsel, in a statement.

According to the complaint, Maryland ratepayers could absorb an additional $1.6 billion in electricity costs over the next decade. Residential customers alone could collectively pay roughly $823 million, averaging about $345 per customer, according to the filing.

Commercial customers could face an estimated $146 million in added costs, while industrial users could pay roughly $629 million.

PJM recently approved about $22 billion in transmission upgrades as electricity demand rises sharply from AI data centers and other large energy-intensive facilities across its territory.

Maryland officials argued the state’s projected electricity demand growth remains significantly lower than that of states such as Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, where many major AI data center projects are concentrated.

The complaint also challenged whether utilities should spread upgrade costs across ratepayers before data center demand fully materializes.

The Office of People’s Counsel said there remained “extreme uncertainty” surrounding future electricity demand forecasts tied to AI infrastructure expansion.

Maryland officials also pointed to President Donald Trump’s so-called “ratepayer protection pledge,” under which technology companies pledged to cover electricity costs associated with their AI infrastructure projects rather than passing them to households and businesses.