Six bills to increase transparency within utilities and provide energy bill relief advance in the General Assembly ahead of summer rate hikes.
After noticeably high energy bill increases among Delmarva Power customers during the winter months, Delaware lawmakers have been working on several pieces of legislation to try and address underlying and immediate energy issues.
These efforts include creating an energy bill assistance fund for low to moderate income households, granting more scrutiny to the Public Service Commission when approving utility rate hikes, requiring the disclosure of votes cast at meetings of the PJM Interconnection Regional Transmission Organization, restricting regulated utilities from using customer funds to subsidize unregulated activities — like lobbying — and capping their annual capital expenses, limiting utility shutoff services and a resolution directing the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility to analyze the costs and benefits of adopting Energy Storage Systems.
Although State Rep. Deb Heffernan’s (D-Bellefonte) bill creating the Delaware Energy Fund was filed in an effort to provide funding relief for customers who experienced high winter energy bills, she explains the relief can also apply for the summer.
“This is going to help people of moderate income. It will also help with cooling bills, which this summer, if it's as hot as last summer, those bills are also going to be high," she said prior to its vote on the House Floor.
In addition to general increases in AC usage that can ramp up summer energy bills, Delmarva Power announced an average increase of $10 for customers beginning June 1 due to increased energy supply costs.
Heffernan’s bill passed in the House on a near-partisan line and now heads to the Senate for consideration.
The remainder of the five Democratic-sponsored pieces of legislation have all advanced in some capacity, the majority with bipartisan support.
But Republicans have also been trying their hand at energy cost-saving measures, largely in the realm of proposing cuts to Delaware’s renewable energy standards.
A bill to remove Delaware from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) still awaits a committee hearing, while a bill that would have repealed Delaware’s controversial EV sales mandate failed in committee.
RGGI is a multi-state carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program. Money raised through the initiative is returned to participating states to invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy and other consumer benefit programs, but Republicans believe Delaware's participation in the program is a driving force behind rising energy costs.
According to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, in 2019, $217 million in RGGI proceeds were invested in programs including energy efficiency, clean and renewable energy, greenhouse gas abatement and direct bill assistance. Over their lifetime, those 2019 investments are projected to provide participating households and businesses with $1.3 billion in energy bill savings and avoid the emission of 2.5 million short tons of CO2.
State Rep. Lyndon Yearick's (R-Magnolia) bill would have repealed Delaware's Advanced Clean Cars program, which requires 43% of new cars and trucks sent to Delaware for sale to be zero-emission vehicles for the model year 2027, escalating to 82% for model year 2032.
Yearick argues the mandate will place additional pressure on Delaware dealerships and threaten their financial stability, but Democratic legislators remain supportive of the program.
The mandate was implemented under former Gov. John Carney's administration, but Gov. Matt Meyer has previously stated publicly that he is not in favor of the current EV sale requirements.
An additional bill from State Rep. Mike Smith (R-Pike Creek) would scale back the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard to 10% for ten years. It’s presently set at 25% and will increase annually until it reaches 40% in 2035.
The Renewable Portfolio Standard is the percentage of electricity that utilities in Delaware must source from renewables.
“What I think is great about this is that it's setting the tone that we do believe renewable energy is a part of the portfolio we should have in the future that we expect, but also looking at the pressure points and the data that we have now to respond to our constituents who are the consumers," he said during the bill's committee hearing.
After robust discourse, the legislation was tabled by the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee to allow for more time to answer questions.
