Center For Energy & Environmental Policy

• Delaware forces electric utilities to buy an annually increasing amount of renewable energy credits from power sources such as fuel cells, wind, and solar.  After a decade of effort, less than 2 percent of our in-state power production comes from renewable sources, but Delmarva Power customers have been committed to about $750 million in premium payments.  A promise to freeze the annual increases if cost on electric bills exceeds 3 percent was broken in 2012, and now adds about 15 percent.  CRI has succeeded in enforcing the regulation, but will now be fighting legislation to eliminate the cost cap.  We are also encouraging rule changes that would allow more installations of large scale solar projects that are now competitively priced and require no government regulation, or subsidies.

• CRI is fighting efforts by Delmarva Power to enter the electric vehicle charging market with a guaranteed 9.75% profit margin with the cost, and risks transferred to their electric customers.

• CRI is also fighting refrigerant industry efforts to shield their new products from competition by banning existing products through EPA regulations, and international treaties.  The new products cost ten times more than existing products, and a treaty would obligate the U.S. to pay $1.3 billion to the wasteful United Nations.