Delmarva Power has gone nearly 15 years without an electric delivery rate increase. The last was in 1995.
For a residential customer with average usage, the total monthly bill would increase about $5.67 or 4.6%, the company said. The delivery rates are separate from the fuel (supply) rate. Delivery rates reflect the costs of providing a system and services to move electricity through the poles and wires to customers.
The company’s $27.6m request reflects rising capital investment costs required to continue to provide its Delaware customers with electric service. Delmarva Power has invested more than $225m in its Delaware transmission and distribution system over the past three years (2006 through 2008) and projects to spend more than $480m in the next five years (2009 through 2013).
The company is also investing $81m in its Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI) and $17.5m in Direct Load Control (DLC) projects in Delaware. Delmarva Power delivers electricity to approximately 300,000 homes and businesses in Delaware.
Delmarva Power officials said that a decision on the rate increase request is expected by May 2010. In the interim, the company said it will implement a 0.36% delivery rate increase, effective November 17, 2009, which will be subject to refund following the PSC’s review.
Delmarva Power, a public utility owned by Pepco Holdings, provides energy to more than 500,000 electric delivery customers in Delaware and Maryland and over 121,000 natural gas delivery customers in northern Delaware.
