09/05/2026
Because your vote matters for accountability and proactive movement forward.
Before blaming every electric-rate increase on Delmarva Power, we need to understand what is actually included in our bills, and trace the decisions that brought us here.
Your electric bill has three major components:
• Supply—the cost of producing or purchasing electricity.
• Transmission—the cost of moving electricity across the regional grid.
• Distribution—Delmarva Power’s cost of delivering it to customers through local poles, wires, substations and meters.
This did not begin yesterday.
In 1999, Delaware restructured its electric industry. Electricity generation and supply were removed from traditional utility regulation, and Delmarva Power became increasingly dependent on purchasing electricity through the regional market instead of owning enough generation to serve its customers directly.
Delaware enacted its Renewable Portfolio Standards Act in 2005. Additional changes followed, and by 2009 and 2010 the state was continuing to move its energy policy toward MANDATED renewable-energy percentages, credits, incentives and special programs.
Lawmakers voted for these policies. Those votes matter because they helped determine what types of energy Delaware would prioritize, how Delmarva Power would meet state requirements and what costs could eventually be passed on to customers. READ THAT AGAIN.
Then came the 2011 Bloom Energy deal.
Senate Bill 124 allowed electricity from Delaware-manufactured fuel cells to count toward Delmarva Power’s renewable-energy requirements. It also made Delmarva Power responsible for the renewable-energy obligations of all its customers and created the framework for a 30-megawatt fuel-cell project and a long-term tariff "paid through customer bills."
That legislation was approved by lawmakers from both parties. You may recognize some familiar names among the legislators who voted for it. At the time, supporters promoted jobs, economic development, price stability and the possibility that the fuel cells could eventually operate on renewable fuels.
**Ratepayers, however, were committed to helping finance the arrangement through their electric bills. READ THAT AGAIN.**
Those “yes” votes should not be forgotten now that customers are demanding answers about affordability.
Today, Delaware is part of PJM, the organization coordinating the electric grid across 13 states and Washington, D.C. PJM’s capacity market pays generators to guarantee that electricity will be available when demand is highest.
Those capacity prices have increased dramatically because demand is growing faster than dependable generation is being added. Power plants have retired, replacement generation has been slow, if not non existent, to come online, transmission and interconnection projects have faced delays, and enormous new loads, including data centers, are placing additional demands on the regional grid.
For the 2025–2026 delivery year, PJM’s regional capacity price increased from $28.92 to $269.92 per megawatt-day, more than nine times the previous price. That wholesale increase originated in the PJM market; it was not simply a number Delmarva Power created. Those costs are ultimately passed through to customers under rates reviewed by the Delaware Public Service Commission.
However, that does not relieve Delmarva Power of responsibility for the portion it controls.
Delmarva Power separately filed a distribution-rate case in December 2025 requesting approximately $67.8 million in additional annual revenue, a proposed 21.7% increase in distribution base rates. The company says the money is needed for infrastructure, maintenance, reliability, operating expenses and local system investments. Every dollar of that request, including the company’s allowed return, must be thoroughly examined.
The complete history matters.
For more than 25 years, state lawmakers, regulators, utilities, PJM and federal policymakers have made decisions that shaped Delaware’s present energy system. Yet dependable generation has been retiring faster than adequate replacement power has been built, while demand and customer costs continue to rise.
Here are the questions Delawareans should be asking:
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• Why haven’t all reliable energy options been placed on the table since 2009?
• Why wasn’t affordability and round-the-clock reliability treated with the same urgency as renewable mandates and politically favored projects?
• What did lawmakers who voted for these policies believe the long-term cost to ratepayers would be?
• Were their promises of lower costs, price stability and energy security ever independently measured against the actual results?
• Why has Delaware waited until customers are struggling with their bills to have a serious conversation about nuclear energy, natural gas, additional in-state generation and other dependable options?
• Why are customers being asked to carry the financial risk for past decisions and massive new energy users?
• How many more years are Delawareans expected to wait for an energy plan that can affordably and reliably keep the lights on?
We should hold Delmarva Power accountable for the costs it controls. We must also hold accountable the elected officials, regulators and regional decision-makers whose policies created the system in which Delmarva Power operates.
This is not about rejecting renewable energy. It is about recognizing that renewable resources must be part of a balanced system that also provides dependable, sustainable, 24-hour power.
The answer is not another slogan or temporary rebate. Delaware needs every realistic option on the table, transparent accounting of every charge, protection for residential customers and a long-term energy strategy built around affordability, reliability and accountability.
People deserve the complete history—not a convenient political talking point.
