The Mayor and Council recently approved a letter in support of a Pepco proposal to establish and test a microgrid in Rockville Town Center that would provide power to essential community services in the event of a widespread power outage.
The state Public Service Commission will hold a hearing on the proposal at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 24, in the commission’s 16th Floor Hearing Room, William Donald Schaefer Tower, 6 St. Paul St., Baltimore.
“We commend Maryland’s efforts to advance the development of microgrids to support community reliability, resiliency, and sustainability goals,” the Mayor and Council said in a letter approved Feb. 26. “Pepco’s proposal in Rockville Town Center is a unique opportunity to support these goals and would provide tremendous value to our community.”
Rockville was chosen by the county for the pilot project over sites in the Seneca Science Corridor and the White Oak Science Gateway.
As the seat of Montgomery County government, and with 298,000 people within a five-mile radius, Town Center is a “strategic and impactful location” for the microgrid, the Mayor and Council said. In the event of a power outage related to severe weather or a cyberattack, the microgrid could disconnect from the larger power grid and operate independently, sustaining electrical service to businesses such as grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies and hotels, and to county and city facilities, including City Hall and the city’s police station.
If approved, Pepco would reconfigure existing electrical infrastructure and incorporate distributed energy generation resources on participating properties.
The Mayor and Council heard a briefing from Pepco about the proposal on Nov. 6. Pepco also met with the community, potential microgrid participants and city staff. Pepco is requesting PSC approval by June 1. If approved, Pepco has committed to installing the microgrid within five years.
Written testimony about the proposal should be filed by April 6 via the PSC’s e-Filing system. Learn more at www.psc.state.md.us. Search case No. 9361.