Deirdre Taylor is a resident of Lewes and Newark.
On May 21, Gov. Matt Meyer signed House Bill 269 into law. This bill makes the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, a private advocacy organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., the default standard setter for Delaware’s interconnection rule, in place of the Delaware Public Service Commission, an agency accountable to Delawareans. According to what I have read, no other state has done this. So, Delaware law requires its electric suppliers to automatically adopt future editions of a private organization’s model interconnection procedures as the binding legal standards — period, no questions asked.
Across the country, other states have modernized their own interconnection rules, using their own commissions to conduct proceedings open to the public and subject to evidentiary standards, with taxpayer interests represented.
This bill covers Delmarva Power and all other electric providers in Delaware, like the Delaware Electric Cooperative. If the Delaware Electric Cooperative decides this is wrong for its customers, there is no clear forum to move forward. So, who has the authority to approve that the Delaware Electric Cooperative can opt out of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s decisions?
This advocacy organization is not a regulatory body. It describes itself as “the foundation for rapid adoption of clean energy.” Delaware, by law, can only use clean energy. Get the picture? The council’s accreditation covers certifying the quality for solar installation training programs and instructors. That accreditation has nothing to do with writing interconnection standards for public utilities. These are covered in IEEE Standard 1547-2018. These are accredited processes involving engineers, utilities, manufacturers and regulators.
This law has handed ongoing standard-setting authority over Delaware’s electric grid to a private organization with no connection to Delaware government and no obligation to weigh Delaware taxpayers’ interests — therefore, there’s no accountability to the people of Delaware. Can the state of Delaware do this lawfully? The Delaware General Assembly did not answer this question.
Now, you wonder why our electric bills are out of control. This is part of the answer. Another part is that Delaware can only use clean energy, like wind and solar, as energy sources. That is not enough. Also, Delaware does not produce any of its own electricity since closing the Indian River Power Plant, due to cancer in the area. The state of Delaware is full of cancer due to being the chemical capital of the world for years. It has been known for years that Delaware needs to produce electricity, but the General Assembly and the governors kicked the can down the road. All I have heard is that nuclear will never be accepted in Delaware. Half of Delaware has potassium iodide pills in case the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear generating stations in New Jersey have leaks. Delaware has become surrounded by nuclear plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Get moving, so we can produce energy in Delaware.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
