Residents fight BGE’s plans to more than double the voltage of power lines in Harford, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties

Transmission towers run directly behind the ranch-style fences that ring John and Patti Von Paris’ 50-acre property in Upper Falls, near Kingsville. Next to the tall towers, blanket-wearing horses lazily swish their tails, and their dog, Gunner, gallops toward the fence. An old-fashioned metal slide and jungle gym nearby are a favorite spot for their young grandchildren, but they try to keep them on the side of the house farthest from the power lines. John Von Paris says he’s concerned about claims that power lines can cause cancer, including childhood leukemia.

For the past six months, the Von Paris home has hosted Sunday community meetings for neighbors battling BGE’s plans to expand the power lines.

BGE first asked the state for permission in July 2024 to more than double the voltage capacity of the overhead lines running through Harford, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties, from 230 kilovolts to 500 kilovolts. It’s part of a broader project that BGE says is needed to maintain electric reliability after the planned retirement of the Brandon Shores coal-fired plant, near Pasadena in Anne Arundel County, in 2028.

A judge is expected to issue an order regarding the project in mid- to late February, said Maryland Public Service Commission spokesperson Tori Leonard. The order would include an appeal period, so it would not immediately become final.

Aside from the expanded lines running through neighborhoods such as Upper Falls, the project would build a new, 230kv line running 29 miles south from Harford County’s Graceton Road substation in Pylesville to a proposed new substation off Batavia Farm Road in the Rosedale area of Baltimore County.

The Von Parises and Mark Kukucka — a nanoscientist who has spearheaded the neighborhood’s “Stop the Power Lines” campaign by compiling research into PowerPoint presentations and social media — said residents were stunned in April to learn about the Brandon Shores project.

People have often confused it, they said, with the Baltimore region’s better-known power-line controversy: the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP) that would run about 70 miles through parts of Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties, and was first proposed in 2023.

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  John and Patti Von Paris have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines that would cut through their property as the existing ones do. The poles will be taller and situated closer to their home, adding 12 more lines. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  John Von Paris has concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines, to those that already cut through his property, that will be taller than existing poles and situated closer to his home, adding 12 more power lines. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  John Von Paris concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines that would cut through his property. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  John and Patti Von Paris discuss why they have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines and poles that would cut through their property as the existing ones do. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  John Von Paris uses a Gauss meter to measure intensity of magnetic flux density. This reading was 6.84. This measurement taken closer to the double pole location on the property. John and Patti Von Paris have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines that would cut through their property as the existing ones do. The poles will he taller and situated closer to their home, adding 12 more lines. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  Mark Kukucka, a nanoscientist, left, and John and Patti Von Paris discuss why they have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines and poles that would cut through both of their properties as the existing ones do. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  Mark Kukucka, a nanoscientist, left, and John and Patti Von Paris discuss why they have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines and poles that would cut through both of their properties as the existing ones do. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  Standing in the middle of his property, John Von Paris uses a Gauss meter to measure intensity of magnetic flux density. This reading was 6.69. John and Patti Von Paris have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines that would cut through their property as the existing ones do. The poles will be taller and situated closer to their home, adding 12 more lines. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  John and Patti Von Paris have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines that would cut through their property as the existing ones do. They are standing approximately in the area where the new power line poles will be located on their property, a 111 foot variance from the house. The poles will be taller and situated closer to their home, adding 12 more lines. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  John Von Paris uses a Gauss meter to measure intensity of magnetic flux density. This reading was 6.84. This measurement taken closer to the double pole location on the property. John and Patti Von Paris have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines that would cut through their property as the existing ones do. The poles will he taller and situated closer to their home, adding 12 more lines. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)
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  John and Patti Von Paris discuss why they have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines and poles that would cut through their property as the existing ones do. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)

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John and Patti Von Paris have concerns over proposed additional BGE power lines that would cut through their property as the existing ones do. The poles will be taller and situated closer to their home, adding 12 more lines. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Staff)

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The residents fighting the projects share similar concerns, such as violation of property rights, exposure to radiation and imposition from the utility companies.

For the Von Parises and Kukucka, the main worry is radiation — now commonly called electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) — as well as what they say is BGE’s lack of transparency about the project.

John Von Paris said he’s worried about his four young grandchildren, all under age 3, visiting the home. The power lines have been behind his property since 1931, and he’s lived there for 68 years. The Von Parises listed many residents along the line who they say have been diagnosed with cancer.

Residents filed a formal complaint with the Public Service Commission in November, accusing BGE of trespassing and easement violations. The utility company responded during the evidentiary hearings that “the easement rights granted to BGE are unambiguous and broad.”

Both the Harford County and Baltimore County councils issued resolutions in the spring opposing the project, and Upper Falls’ state representatives have also come out against it. Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly urged the PSC in an October letter to not approve the Brandon Shores Retirement Mitigation Project and instead look into alternative power sources such as small, modular nuclear reactors.

The residents’ campaign is happening against the backdrop of rising energy bills. Gov. Wes Moore replaced the chair of the state’s Public Service Commission on Monday, and signed an executive order last month to try to bring more energy developers to Maryland.

On a cold Monday morning, Von Paris held up a Gauss meter next to the transmission tower. It registered roughly 6 microteslas. Average exposures above 0.3 or 0.4 microteslas could pose an “excess risk,” a 2010 report from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.

“A considerable number of epidemiological reports, published particularly during the 1980s and ’90s, indicated that long term exposure to 50-60 Hz magnetic fields might be associated with an increased risk of childhood leukemia,” the commission wrote.

But the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not set specific limits for such exposure. The American Cancer Society says that “the electromagnetic field directly under a power line is typically in the range of what you could be exposed to when using certain household appliances.”

Von Paris, who is CEO of Howard County-based Von Paris Moving, added he is not “anti-grid.” He and Kukucka said residents have not complained about the power lines for many decades.

But now, Kukucka said, “it will be a crusade for me to get the awareness out to everyone I know.”

Have a news tip? Contact Bryna Zumer at bzumer@baltsun.com, or on X as @brynazumer. 

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