Press Release: Dec. 19, 2025

“For Governor Moore to blame PJM after his own party pushed the closure of our reliable fossil-fuel plants is misguided.”- Senator Steve Hershey

Hershey, Ready Respond to Governor Moore’s Energy & Utility Rate Executive Order

Annapolis, MD.:

Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey and Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready responded today to Governor Moore’s announcement on energy and utility rate relief, saying the Governor continues to avoid responsibility for the policies that destabilized Maryland’s grid and drove costs higher.

Senator Hershey said the Governor’s remarks ignored the role Democratic energy mandates have played in weakening reliability:

“PJM is responsible for keeping the grid reliable, but they are forced to operate within the shortsighted mandates imposed by states like Maryland. For Governor Moore to blame PJM after his own party pushed the closure of our reliable fossil-fuel plants is misguided.

He still can’t bring himself to say, ‘natural gas,’ yet it’s one of the most effective tools we have to stabilize prices and ensure reliability. Instead, Maryland is being turned into a transmission state, dependent on Pennsylvania and West Virginia for the energy we refuse to produce.

If the Governor wants affordable, dependable electricity and real economic growth, he must acknowledge that intermittent wind and solar aren’t enough — and start embracing natural gas and other reliable baseload generation sources.”

Senator Ready said the Governor continues to avoid accountability for the consequences of his policies while his administration faces growing turmoil:

“The Governor is so focused on national politics and trying to end-run the congressional map that he’s been asleep at the switch while Maryland families face rising energy costs. Today’s comments were another attempt to deflect blame for his failed energy agenda, which has made prices higher and reliability worse.

At the same time, his administration is unraveling, as audit after audit exposes serious management failures. Marylanders deserve leadership that confronts these problems, not finger-pointing and excuses.

Let’s be clear: the Democratic energy policies of the past decade — accelerated under Governor Moore — created this crisis, and Maryland cannot afford to ignore it any longer.”

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