Wallace pushes natural gas buildout after federal grid emergency order

Dave Wallace, the Republican nominee in Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District, is calling for more natural gas generation, pipelines and energy investment after the Department of Energy issued an emergency order to help prevent blackouts in the PJM grid serving Maryland. Wallace says the region needs more dependable power now to hold down bills and avoid future reliability crises.

Why it matters: - Wallace is tying Maryland’s electric reliability and household power bills to a bigger push for dispatchable generation and transmission buildout. - The federal emergency order underscores how close the PJM regional grid came to stress conditions that could threaten service. - Wallace argues that more in-state and regional power production would reduce dependence on imported electricity and lower costs for families and businesses.

What happened: - The Department of Energy issued an emergency order on Oct. 12, effective Oct. 13 through Oct. 16, to prevent blackouts across the PJM electricity region. - PJM serves Maryland and faced pressure from elevated electricity demand, unusually warm weather, and overlapping maintenance outages at power plants and on transmission lines. - Wallace called for expanded natural gas power generation, pipelines, energy rights-of-way and capital investment in response.

The details: - The emergency order authorizes additional generation and emergency backup resources to support grid reliability. - Wallace said emergency intervention can keep the lights on in the short term, but Maryland needs durable infrastructure for the long term. - Wallace said high electricity bills leave families with less money for groceries, housing, medicine and other necessities. - Wallace said businesses face higher operating costs that can pressure jobs and livelihoods. - Maryland imports electricity, leaving the state dependent on generation elsewhere and the transmission system needed to deliver it. - Wallace said abundant natural gas is available in the region and that pipelines and new power plants are needed to use it. - Wallace said his goal is to turn Maryland from a net importer of electricity into a net exporter. - PJM’s 2026-27 capacity auction met its planning reserve requirement with virtually no excess. - PJM’s 2027-28 auction fell short of the roughly 20% planning reserve target. - Wallace said the grid needs dependable capacity before maintenance-driven stress becomes blackouts. - Wallace said wind and solar output depends on weather conditions and that the grid needs dispatchable resources that can respond when electricity is needed. - Wallace identified four energy votes by Rep. Johnny Olszewski as objections to reforms Wallace supports. - H.R. 3632, the Power Plant Reliability Act, would require advance notice of planned generating-unit retirements, with exceptions, and allow FERC to require continued operation when needed for reliability. - H.R. 3616, the Reliable Power Act, would strengthen reliability assessments and require FERC review of covered federal regulations when inadequate generation threatens the grid. - H.R. 3668, the Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act, would streamline covered natural gas project reviews through FERC leadership and concurrent agency review. - H.R. 1949, the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act, would remove separate Energy Department approval requirements for natural gas imports and exports and give FERC exclusive authority over approval of associated facilities. - Wallace’s proposed American Energy Certainty, Security, and Affordability Act of 2027 would create one lead agency, one coordinated review process and enforceable permitting deadlines while preserving protections for public safety, water and property rights. - Wallace’s rights-of-way plan would prioritize technically suitable existing utility, pipeline, railroad and highway corridors for new energy infrastructure, subject to engineering requirements, lawful easements and landowner agreements. - Wallace said federal law must protect the interstate energy system against state policies that block production, restrict fuel deliveries or force power plants to close before replacement capacity is operating. - Wallace also called for ending special regulatory privileges that allow California vehicle mandates, when adopted by other states, to shape markets beyond California. - Wallace said Congress should set clear national rules for interstate commerce and oppose mandates that increase electricity demand while dependable generation is being restricted. - Wallace said former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette’s Oct. 13 comments on Kudlow about indexing capital gains to inflation reinforced the case for encouraging more infrastructure investment. - Wallace said he wants capital gains reform, supported by dynamic economic modeling, to encourage investment in energy production, refineries, power plants and grid capacity. - Wallace said he wants to end barriers to fossil fuel development, remove unnecessary permitting and tax obstacles, and give investors certainty to finance and build. - Wallace’s broader agenda links domestic production with pipelines, storage, refinery investment, natural gas generation and stronger transmission and distribution. - Wallace said his Chesapeake Bay LNG vision would connect regional natural gas production with manufacturing, port investment and allied energy markets.

Between the lines: - Wallace is making energy policy a central campaign argument, framing it as both an affordability issue and a reliability issue. - The pitch leans on federal grid stress to argue for faster permitting, more fossil fuel infrastructure and fewer state-level constraints. - Wallace is also trying to draw a sharper contrast with Olszewski by using recorded House votes as evidence of policy differences. - The messaging blends short-term crisis response with a broader deregulatory and tax-cut agenda aimed at private investment.

What’s next: - Wallace said he will keep pressing for the infrastructure and investment he says are needed to improve energy security. - He is asking Maryland voters to back his campaign three weeks before Election Day. - Wallace said the next phase would focus on power plants, energy corridors and investment designed to deliver affordable, reliable electricity.

The bottom line: - Wallace is using the federal emergency order as proof that Maryland needs more natural gas, more infrastructure and a faster permitting system to avoid future blackouts and lower bills.