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Department of State : Delaware Public Service Commission

ELECTRIC REGULATION IN DELAWARE

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ROLE OF THE COMMISSION

In 1999, the General Assembly passed legislation restructuring the electric industry in Delaware. Prior to restructuring, the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power by investor-owned utilities was fully regulated by the PSC. With restructuring, the generation of electric power became deregulated, leaving only distribution services under the regulatory control of the PSC. The pricing of electric transmission is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

In 2006, faced with significantly increase energy costs, the General Assembly passed a revision to the restructuring legislation entitled "The Electric Utilities Retail Supply Act of 2006." The Act provides that all electric distribution companies subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission would be designated as the standard offer service supplier and returning customer service supplier in their respective territories. The Act provided further opportunity for distribution companies to enter into long and short-term supply contracts, own and operate generation facilities, build generation and transmission facilities, make investments in demand-side resources and take any other Commission approved action to diversify their retail load supply. Additionally, Delmarva Power is required to conduct Integrated Resource Planning for a forward-looking 10 year time frame and to file such plan with the Commission, the Controller General, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Energy Office every two years starting with December 1, 2006. As part of the initial planning process, Delmarva Power is required to file a proposal to obtain long-term supply contracts. The proposal requires Delmarva Power to include a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the construction of new generation resources within Delaware. Delaware IRP/RFP

REGULATED UTILITIES

CONSUMER INFORMATION

  • Electric Choice - Customers of the Delaware Electric Cooperative and Delmarva Power may now have a choice in which company will provide their electric energy supply (distribution of electric will still remain with the respective utility). Electric suppliers must be certified by the Commission prior to offering electric supply service to consumers. The List of Certified Electric Suppliers provides the telephone numbers and websites of electric suppliers that may be offering services to residential, commercial or industrial customers. This list is updated as often as information becomes available, but the Commission would urge customers to contact all potential suppliers to determine if a company is offering service. Before switching, the Consumer Energy Education Group (CEEG) has created a list of questions to ask potential electric suppliers.
  • General Information
  • Consumer Energy Education Group ("CEEG") - The Consumer Energy Education Group ("CEEG") is a group of state government and industry representatives with different areas of expertise but one common goal: to help Delawareans use available resources to save energy and manage their energy costs. CEEG recently completed a series of statewide community events to help consumers cope with anticipated energy rate increases.
  • Consumer Reference - The following websites offer consumer information about electric issues:

IMPORTANT OR PENDING CASES

Visit the Regulated Utility Filings page for a listing of dockets, grouped by year and service type, opened by the Commission. Cases of significant importance or interest, such as rate cases, are also highlighted below.

All case related documents are available for review by appointment at the Commission Office in Dover, Delaware, or at the Office of the Public Advocate in Wilmington, Delaware.

  • Transmission Formula Rate Structure - Rate Change Filing - PSC Docket No. 08-125: PSC Order No. 7403 authorizes Delmarva to revise its transmission rates for its SOS and HPS customers on a temporary basis and subject to refund effective July 1, 2008. Public notice shall be published and provides that interested parties may file comments or objections to the proposed rate change on or before July 16, 2008.
  • Reasonable Allowance for Retail Margin ("RARM") - PSC Docket No. 07-364: PSC Order No. 7406 approves the Reasonable Allowance for Retail Margin ("RARM")with a true-up in its next RARM proposal for the difference between Staff's RARM calculation and Delmarva, and directs Delmarva to adjust its SOS Hourly Priced Service rate to reflect Staff's recommended changes commencing 60 days from the date of this order.
  • Integrated Resource Planning - PSC Rregulation Docket No. 60: On December 4, 2007, the Commission entered PSC Order No. 7318, promulgating a proposed Integrated Resource Planning Regulation (Exhibit "A" to PSC Order No. 7318). These rules were published in the January 2008 issue of the Delaware Register of Regulation. Written comments on this proposed regulation were filed on February 1, 2008.
  • Revenue Decoupling for Electric and Natural Gas - PSC Rregulation Docket No. 59
  • Standard Offer Service (SOS) for Customers of Delmarva Power - PSC Docket No. 04-391: On October 11, 2005 the Commission signed PSC Order No. 6746, which adopted the procedure for determining which entitiy and the price at which "standard offer service" would be offered in the service territory of Delmarva Power & Light Company after May 1, 2006. Consumers who do not choose to receive electric supply service from a competitive electric supplier are provided "standard offer service" ("SOS") from the selected entity. After the first rounds of bidding were completed and new SOS rates established, the Commission initiated a proceeding to re-visit the Request For Proposal ("RFP") procedures in the SOS procurement process to determine if any changes were necessary in light of the enactment of the "Electric Utility Retail Customer Supply Act of 2006," the experience gained from the earlier process, and previous criticisms about a lack of transparency. On Oct. 17, 2006, the Commission entered Order No. 7053 which approved a number of consensus changes to the existing SOS procumennt process. Prior to each procurement, the Commission engages the services of a technical consultant to oversee Delmarva Power's SOS process and report back to the Commission its findings, as well as offer recommendations on how the process might be improved. The final technical reports are listed below: By PSC Order No. 7405, the Commission approved the revised tariff sheets filed by Delmarva pertaining to its SOS rates and Procurement Cost Adjustment ("PCA") factors resulting from the 2007-08 SOS procurements.
  • Electric Reliability Standards - PSC Regulation Docket No. 50: On August 8, 2006, the Commission signed PSC Order No. 7002, adopting the final "Electric Service Reliability and Quality Standards" to provide benchmark standards related to the reliability of electric service provided by electric distribution utilities, and imposing annual reporting requirements.
  • Electric Supplier Rules - PSC Regulation Docket No. 49: On November 21, 2006, the Commission entered PSC Order No. 7078 adopting the proposed "Rules for Certification and Regulation of Electric Suppliers" (Exhibit "A" to PSC Order No. 7078). The Rules will be published in the January 2007 issue of the Delaware Register of Regulation. On August 21, 2007, the Commission reopened PSC Regulation Docket No. 49 to consider the Net Metering Standard set forth in 16 U.S.C. 2621 (d) (11) related to the net metering of customer-generated electric supply. By Order No. 7252 (PSC Docket No. 07-219), the Commission is now soliciting the views of the Delaware Electric Cooperative, Inc. and other interested persons or entities related to whether the Commission continues to have regulatory authority, under 26 Del. C. § 224(9)a.1., over the Delaware Electric Cooperative, Inc. for the purposes of implementing “net metering.” The Commission asks that such views be filed with the Commission on or before September 21, 2007. By PSC Order No. 7326 (Dec. 4, 2007), the Commission solicits comments, suggestions, compilations of data, briefs, or other written materials concerning the proposed revisions to its “net metering” rules - If you wish to file any such materials, you should submit an original and ten copies of such written documents on or before Wednesday, February 6, 2008. You can also review PSC Order No. 7326 and the proposed amendments in the January 2008 issue of the Delaware Register of Regulation.
  • Integrated Resource Plans/Request for Proposals - Docket No. 06-241: In compliance with the "Electric Utility Retail Customer Supply Act of 2006" Delmarva Power is obligated to file a proposal to obtain long-term supply contracts by August 1, 2006 and a ten-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) by December 1, 2006. In compliance with the Act, Delmarva Power has filed its proposal with the Commission, the Delaware Energy Office, the Office of Management and Budget and the Controller General's Office. The proposal includes a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for the construction of new generation resources in Delaware to serve standard offer service customers. Learn more...
  • Advanced Metering - PSC Regulation Docket No. 57: The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires state utility commissions to consider whether to have regulated utilities (and retail electric suppliers) implement a new PURPA statndard related to "Time-Based Metering and Communications." States are required to consider the adoption of a smart metering standard. On May 9, 2006, the Commission signed PSC Order No. 6912 to evaluate the desirablility, the feasibility, and the cost effectiveness of requiring smart metering technology, including time of use metering, to be utilized throughout, or selectively within, the service territories of Delmarva Power. PSC Staff held several public meetings and submitted a Whitepaper on Advanced Metering to the Commission. On November 16, 2006 Staff also filed a Joint Advanced Metering Report with the Commission. The Commission, in Order No. 7129, dated January 23, 2007, after hearing Delmarva Power’s plans to file a comprehensive demand-side proposal in early February, elected to take no action regarding feasibility of required advanced metering and deferred that decision pending Delmarva’s filing. On February 6, 2007 Delmarva filed its “Blue Print for the Future.”
  • Interconnection Standards - PSC Regulation Docket No. 58: On July 11, 2006, under PSC Order No. 6983 the Commission initiated PSC Regulation Docket No. 58 to consider the need for new PURPA "interconnection" standards for Delmarva Power. The federal interconnection standard would require each electric utility to make available to a requesting customer non-discriminatory "interconnection services," thus allowing that customer to connect its on-site generating facility to the utility's local distribution facilities. In the Order, the Commission invited interested parties to respond to a series of questions; however, interested parties could also include other information that they believed would be helpful to the Commission in this proceeding. The Commission set Wednesday, August 15, 2006 as a time by which all interested parties should respond to the questions and any particular issues they may wish to address.
  • IN THE MATTER OF DELMARVA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY'S BLUE PRINT FOR THE FUTURE PLAN FOR DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT, ADVANCED METERING AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY - PSC DOCKET NO. 07-28 (FILED FEBRUARY 6, 2007)

LOCAL, REGIONAL, AND NATIONAL ISSUES

  • Electric Industry Restructuring in Delaware
  • Customer-Owned Generation: Interconnection standards for customers of Delmarva Power and the Delaware Electric Cooperative who own on-site generation under one megawatt (MW) and wish to interconnect with the utility electric grid.
  • Electric Transmission: PJM Interconnection LLC (PJM) is the regional transmission organization (RTO) responsible for the transmission of electricity in the region that includes all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
  • The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC): NARUC membership is comprised of the governmental agencies engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The NARUC website provides information about the issues facing the energy, telecommunications, and water/wastewater industries at the national level.
  • Presentations made to the Commission at the June 17, 2008 meeting on rising energy prices Update on Energy Prices DE Presentation Energy Prices Richard Lelash
Last Updated: monday, 10-Apr-06 10:50:35
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