House Concurrent Resolution 50

Delmarva Power has been spending millions on lawyers, lobbyists, PR and radio advertising to try to kill offshore wind power in Delaware. Some legislators don't want the company's customers to foot the bill for defying the Public Service Commission and blocking the implementation of HB 6.

SPONSOR: Rep. Kowalko & Rep. Schwartzkopf
Reps. Johnson, Keeley, Mitchell, Mulrooney, Williams; Sens. Ennis, Peterson, Simpson, Sokola; Rep. Valihura; Sens. Cloutier, Connor, Sorenson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 144th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 50

RECOMMENDING THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION DENY ANY REQUEST BY DELMARVA POWER TO RECOUP FROM, OR PASS-THROUGH TO, ITS RATEPAYERS THE COSTS IT HAS INCURRED OPPOSING THE POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT NEGOTIATED BETWEEN DELMARVA POWER ND BLUEWATER WIND PURSUANT TO THE CRITERIA ESTABLISHED IN HOUSE BILL NO. 6.

WHEREAS, satisfying the RFP competitive process mandated by House Bill No. 6 of the 143rd General Assembly required significant financial expenditures by competing parties to craft acceptable proposals to fulfill those mandates; and
WHEREAS, the successful bidder, Bluewater Wind, expended a significant amount of its own resources to analyze the RFP and submit a proposal that was in the best interests of Delmarva’s ratepayers and the citizens of Delaware; and
WHEREAS, Bluewater Wind has acted in good faith and submitted a proposal that meets the criteria established in House Bill No. 6 with no expectation of recovering its investment from the SOS customers in Delaware; and
WHEREAS, even after submitting a proposal that meets the criteria established in House Bill No. 6, Bluewater Wind has had to expend significant energy and resources to answer a series of unsubstantiated attacks by Delmarva Power to the Power Purchase Agreement originally scheduled to be signed on December 18, 2007; and
WHEREAS, Delmarva Power officials and their agents have consistently stated that they intend to pass-on to and recoup from its ratepayers all of the costs and expenses incurred in opposing the Power Purchase Agreement developed pursuant to the criteria established in House Bill No. 6; and
WHEREAS, Delmarva Power and its agents continue to impede the proceedings and conclusions reached through an 18 month RFP process that formally concluded on December 14, 2007; and
WHEREAS, the Public Service Commission is the duly appointed regulatory agency with exclusive authority to determine what rate increases and relief is in the interest of the ratepayers, and to make determinations upon application by SOS distributors for rate increases.
NOW THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 144th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that the General Assembly hereby recommends that the Public Service Commission deny any request by Delmarva Power to recoup from it ratepayers the expenditures it incurred in opposing the Power Purchase Agreement negotiated pursuant to the criteria established in House Bill No. 6; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Assembly hereby recommends that the Public Service Commission deny any attempt and/or request by Delmarva Power to include a pass-through surcharge to its customers to recover the money Delmarva Power spent to oppose the Power Purchase Agreement negotiated pursuant to the criteria established in House Bill No. 6; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Assembly hereby recommends that all of the expenses Delmarva Power incurred throughout the process mandated by House Bill No. 6, other than those incurred for the purpose of satisfying the requirements that act, be borne by Delmarva Power and/or its parent company, Pepco Holdings.

SYNOPSIS
This concurrent resolution recommends that the Public Service deny any request by Delmarva Power to recover from or pass-through to its ratepayers the costs it has incurred opposing the Power Purchase Agreement negotiated between Delmarva Power and Bluewater Wind pursuant to the criteria established in House Bill No. 6.

By the way, Bluewater Wind's costs to date have been entirely covered by its investors. There is no provision in the power purchase agreement to recover its start-up expenses.