Maryland: After A Century in Darkness, Gedetarbo Breaks Ground for Electricity Project

Published: September 4, 2026

GEDETARBO, Maryland County — Work has begun on a project to bring electricity to Gedetarbo, a town in Pleebo-Sodoken District that has never had a stable power supply, after Maryland County Sen. James P. Biney broke ground on an extension line there Thursday.

Residents who attended the Sept. 3 ceremony, among them chiefs, elders, women and young people, said the absence of electricity has been the town’s most persistent problem for generations, forcing households to rely on other sources of lighting and making study, night trading and small business difficult.

Neither Biney nor the plantation representative who spoke at the ceremony said how much the project will cost, where the power will come from, who is financing it or when Gedetarbo is expected to be connected.

Biney had earlier provided solar panels to the town. Residents said the extension line could give them a steadier and more durable supply, and they pledged to cooperate with the work.

Biney said he remains committed to bringing basic social services to communities across Maryland County, that electricity is central to the county’s development agenda, and that communities which have historically gone without essential services should benefit from development spending. He said he would use his proximity to the executive to bring further development to the county.

Alphonso Bedell, who represented Cavalla Rubber Corporation at the ceremony, said the company supports development in the area and is willing to support the project. He declined to comment on accusations by Pleebo-Sodoken District Commissioner Jerome Neufville that the company keeps its own facilities powered while the communities around its operations have no stable electricity.

Neufville has said that communities providing land and labor for concession operations should see improved services in return, and that the company’s failure to support community electrification raises questions about its corporate social responsibility. He has called on the company to electrify surrounding towns and villages and has asked the government, through the National Bureau of Concessions and the Maryland County legislative caucus, to compel concession companies to meet their obligations to host communities.

Cavalla Rubber Corporation management had not responded to questions about the accusations as of press time.