CPV St. Charles Energy Center

NOTICE OF PRE- HEARING CONFERENCE AND OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVENE
On January 14, 2022, CPV Maryland, LLC (“CPV”) filed an application (“Application”) with the Public Service Commission of Maryland (“PSC”), to modify its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) previously granted in Case No. 9437, to allow for the installation of four (4) emergency diesel generators for “BlackStart” capabilities at its St. Charles Energy Center generating facility in Charles County, Maryland. CPV proposes to install four (4) emergency diesel generators to address for a potential BlackStart scenario in the event of a failure in the regional electric.

CPV currently operates its facility under a CPCN granted by the PSC on March 16, 2018, in Case No. 9437. PJM Interconnection, LLC (“PJM”) is the Independent System Operator that facilitates and controls electrical power grid operations in Maryland. One of PJM’s missions or objectives is to ensure the reliability and stability of the electric power system. PJM is required to have a Black-Start facility for the region in the event that there is a system-wide blackout. In November 2021, PJM selected CPV to provide future BlackStart capabilities from its St. Charles Energy Center. CPV’s proposal to satisfy its PJM obligation is to construct and operate four (4), 3.5- megawatt diesel fired BlackStart energy generators at its existing St. Charles Energy Center.

The generators will be U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier II certified engines and fired exclusively with ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. These four (4) generators will total 14 MW and provide sufficient on-site electrical power to restart one (1) combustion turbine without outside power sources.

Copies of the Application for modification are available for public inspection at the Charles County Public Library, 10405 O’Donnell Place, Waldorf, MD 20603, and are available in electronic form for viewing and downloading via the PSC’s website, www.psc.state.md.us/ (case search “9437”).

Petitions to intervene must be filed by April 6, 2022, and may be filed electronically through the PSC’s website at www.psc.state.md.us or sent by first-class mail to the PSC’s Executive Secretary, Andrew S. Johnston, 6 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202-6806, referencing Case No. 9437. Pursuant to the PSC’s March 13, 2020 Notice of Waiver and Relaxed Filing Requirements, no paper copies need be submitted if the filing is public in nature and no more than 25 pages long.

A virtual pre-hearing conference for the purpose of receiving public comment on the Application will be held on Thursday, April 7, 2022, at 2:30 p.m. At the pre-hearing conference, any preliminary matters, including the consideration of any petitions to intervene and the establishment of a procedural schedule, will be discussed. Anyone not a party to the case wishing to participate in the pre-hearing conference should send an email to psc.pulj@gmail.com by 12:00 Noon on April 6, 2022. For viewing only, the pre-hearing conference will also be livestreamed on the Public Utility Law Judge Division’s YouTube channel, https://bit.ly/2X6wLiP.