Legalectric

Oh my… look what I found… seems I hit “save” and not “publish” and so here it is, a bit later…

“We’re connected to you by more than power lines” 

Today is the meeting where Delmarva addresses its plan — will the public be part of this process or will the public be shut out?

The PSC is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Cannon Building hearing room, 861 Silver Lake Blvd., Dover. … Another session is set for the same time and location on May 8 to review staff recommendations on the power plant issue.

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Day of decision ahead for Delmarva Power

State utility regulators poised to recommend new power plant to meet long-term needs

By JEFF MONTGOMERY, The News Journal

Posted Sunday, April 22, 2007

A year-long power plant sweepstakes turns into the home stretch this week, with the Delaware Public Service Commission slated to receive a briefing Tuesday in Dover on Delmarva Power’s long-range plan and need for new electricity supplies.

Two weeks later, PSC members and representatives of three other state agencies are scheduled to tentatively decide whether to refer any of three power plant bids to Delmarva for a long-term power-purchase contract potentially worth billions of dollars.

State lawmakers ordered the bidding for a new Delaware plant last year, in reform legislation prompted by public complaints about a 59 percent jump in Delmarva’s rates after a six-year freeze and deregulation.

Three companies submitted offers, ranging from a small, conventional natural gas turbine for peak power needs to a 200-turbine offshore wind farm and 600-megawatt plant fueled by a clean-burning gas extracted from processed coal.

Delmarva estimated that the new plants could add from $100 million to $5.2 billion to customer costs through the year 2038, and the company opposed any of the three as unnecessary obligations.

“The intent of the legislation was to try to get alternative power that was going to save consumers money,” said Rep. Gerald W. Hocker, R-Ocean View, who chairs the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “From what I’ve seen, none of these are going to save money.”

But the PSC staff and consultants recently asked Delmarva to re-examine some assumptions used to judge the bids, moves that could change rankings or results. A separate report released this month recommended a bidding that would include energy sources outside the state.

“A lot of people think it’s going to fall back to the Legislature,” said Sen. George H. Bunting Jr., D-Bethany Beach. “If that does happen, you’re going to have a whole different dynamic.”

The bidding ignited sometimes-passionate debates over energy costs, the state’s economy, air quality, renewable energy supplies and global warming. Weighing in were labor, citizen, environmental and business and health interests.

The Medical Society of Delaware urged officials last month to develop comprehensive energy conservation programs and improved efficiency standards, with “least-polluting” options favored for any new supplies.

“We believe that the three proposals under this RFP [process] would not benefit our customers as far as savings in energy costs,” said Merrie Street, a spokeswoman for Delmarva Power. She added that the company believes the PSC should reject all three even if officials conduct a wider search for supplies.

Still to come is a package of legislation developed by the state’s Sustainable Energy Utility Task Force that would encourage and subsidize consumer conservation, use of energy efficient appliances and development of small-scale renewable electricity supplies such as solar and wind power.

Hocker said he expects to meet with the chairman of that task force, Sen. Harris B. McDowell III, D-Wilmington North, as early as next week.

The PSC is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Cannon Building hearing room, 861 Silver Lake Blvd., Dover. Several other utility issues, including water, wastewater and telephone services, are up for consideration. Another session is set for the same time and location on May 8 to review staff recommendations on the power plant issue.

Copyright ©2007, The News Journal.