The Situation
Much of the East Coast relies on a congested power system that can’t meet rising demand without significant upgrades. In the past 30 years, the population of southern Maryland has risen dramatically and today’s American home uses 21 percent more power than in the mid 1970s.

As a result of this increasing demand for power, the
existing transmission system in southern Maryland will
not be able to keep up in the years ahead. Experts like
the U.S. Department of Energy and the Maryland Public
Service Commission have said that building new
transmission lines will help address this problem.


Building Capacity
The MAPP project would significantly increase southern Maryland’s ability to import power. SMECO, BGE and Pepco each rely on this transmission system to keep the lights on for their customers and early estimates suggest that the entire MAPP line, which crosses four states in the region, could bring enough new power to the region to light up to an additional 800,000 to 2 million homes.

When you combine this new energy with a stronger focus on energy conservation and development of new clean power sources like wind, solar and nuclear, the region will be well positioned to meet the energy challenges in its future.


Constructed on Existing Rights-of-Way
Fortunately, almost all of the MAPP line in Charles, Prince George’s and Calvert counties will be constructed on or adjacent to existing transmission towers. In fact, more than 70 percent of the project in southern Maryland will only require the addition of a second set of wires to existing towers.

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