Need help reading your Delmarva Power bill? Here’s a breakdown of every charge in Delaware

In an effort to be more transparent, Delmarva Power officials said they changed their billing format. 

But those revisions only led to more confusion among customers, with many questioning what appeared to be new charges due to the new billing setup. 

Delmarva Power Regional President Phil Vavala reassured consumers during a February Senate committee hearing that the new breakdown in “delivery” and “supply” were not new charges but previously were rolled into one line item.  

Now, “delivery” and “supply” are listed as separate items on the first page of the bill instead of just the total electric and/or gas charges.  

The new format breaks down more than a dozen charges that make up Delmarva energy bills, which also includes separate charges for distribution, low-income, green energy, renewable compliance, distribution system, improvement, and energy efficiency. 

It is that confluence of charges that has fueled pursuits for finding who or what is to blame for soaring energy bills this winter and led Delawareans to demand lawmakers take action to provide relief.  

Nearly all the charges on Delmarva bills are calculated based on a consumer’s electric and gas use, outside the customer charge, which is a fixed cost for all ratepayers.  

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Here is a breakdown of each charge on Delmarva Power bills, when the rates were first instituted, how frequently they can change, and what those charges go to: 

Customer charge 

This charge is assessed on electric and gas customers. If you are only an electric or gas customer, then the charge appears once on your Delmarva bill.  

These charges can only be changed with Public Service Commission approval, and cover fixed costs such as metering, billing and customer care. 

The residential electric customer charge was last updated in April last year and is $13.50. 

The residential gas customer charge was last updated in September 2022 and is $15.00. 

Distribution charges for gas, electric 

Distribution charges for gas and electricity are based on your usage and current approved rate. It covers your energy use, the equipment needed, and the wear and tear of the local electric grid delivering your power, such as poles and wires. 

These charges are also subject to Public Service Commission approval. Delmarva typically files rate cases for changes to these charges every two to three years.  

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The last time electric distribution charges were changed was last April and increased to $0.046594 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for residential electric customer (non-space heating). It increased to $0.043606 per kWh for residential space-heating customers, according to Delmarva officials. 

The gas distribution charge was last increased in September 2022 and is $0.6026 per hundred cubic feet or CCF. 

The total charge for gas and electric distribution is calculated by multiplying your total kilowatt per hour use for the billing period by the charge rate, which means the more energy you use, the higher these total costs will be. 

Standard offer service charge 

The standard offer service charge is the cost associated with a rate payer’s electricity supply. The price is dictated by supply and demand of electricity and typically changes twice a year in June and October based on the summer and winter seasons. 

The current residential customer winter rate, which encompasses Oct. 2024 through May this year, is $0.079149 per kWh. The residential space-heating customer rate for this winter is $0.078637 per kWh.

The rates for the summer season haven’t been set yet.  

If a ratepayer opts to purchase their energy from third-party suppliers licensed by the Delaware Public Service Commission, those suppliers’ rates will be shown under the supply portion of your Delmarva bill. 

Delmarva officials encourage consumers to be aware of the details of their contract and compare third-party rates against Delmarva’s “price to compare” rate. 

Transmission capacity charge 

The transmission capacity charge is a customer’s average peak use from the previous year. It is updated annually on Jan. 1.  

Delmarva officials said this charge covers the “necessary infrastructure investments in the high voltage transmission lines” carrying electricity to the utility’s distribution system. 

It typically changes annually on Sept. 1 and must be approved by the Public Service Commission. The current rate is $6.242792 per kW, which is a slight decrease from the previous rate.  

Gas cost charge 

This line item covers the cost of natural gas that Delmarva purchases for customers at “no mark up or profit” to the utility, officials said. The charge also includes the cost of transporting the gas through interstate pipelines.  

The charge is updated annually and takes effect Nov. 1, but if market prices “rise or fall significantly throughout the year,” Delmarva officials said the utility can request approval from the commission to adjust the rate.  

The current gas cost rate is $0.4699, which is a slight increase from the previous rate.  

Distribution system improvement charge 

The distribution system improvement charge (DSIC) is assessed on both electric and gas customers. The rate can vary each month as “utilities add or remove items from the rate base,” commission Executive Director Matthew Hartigan said. 

This charge for Delmarva’s electric customers increased at the beginning of the year to 4.23% because the utility spent $45.4 million in new plant investments.  

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The charge allows the utility to recover money spent on infrastructure investments for both electricity and gas customers.  

According to Delmarva officials, the electric distribution system improvement charge is updated “semi-annually and is typically effective Jan. 1 and July 1.” 

The same charge for gas also was updated at the beginning of the year and dropped from the previous rate of 7.5% to the current rate of 5.41%. 

The cost to a ratepayer is calculated by adding the customer and distribution charges and multiplying that total by the percentage rate set for electric or gas. 

Low-income charge 

The charge took effect in 1999, and the rate has been set at $0.000095 per kWh since its inception. The rate can only be changed by an act of the Delaware General Assembly. 

The funds collected by this charge help pay for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and weatherization programs. 

Green Energy Fund 

The Green Energy Fund charge also went into effect in 1999, and its rate is set by the General Assembly.  

It is mostly used to finance rebates for residential programs such as installing renewable energy systems like solar panels and geothermal heat pumps.  

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The current rate is $0.000356 per kWh, which has been in effect since 2007.  

Renewable compliancy charges paid by Delmarva also go into the state’s Green Energy Fund, which supports renewable energy programs in Delaware.   

Energy efficiency surcharge 

The energy efficiency surcharge covers costs associated with energy efficiency programs that Delmarva Power provides or partners with organizations on, like Energize Delaware.  

It typically changes on an annual basis in January. The current rate is $0.000476 per kWh, which took effect Jan. 1.  

Renewable energy compliance charge 

The renewable compliance charges are made up of two charges: one for wind and solar energy and the other for qualified fuel cells.   

The “Wind and Solar” charge covers the costs of Delmarva purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs) in lieu of the utility meeting the state’s energy goals by generating renewable electricity themselves – which state law prohibits them from doing.  

The RECs are currently $35 to $37, higher than previously forecasted, preventing Delmarva from purchasing renewable energy credits because of increased demand for existing facilities that provide that energy and, therefore, prices. 

The power bill charges also cover the cost of any Alternative Compliance Payments (ACP), which is an alternative cost the utility pays instead of purchasing RECs above a state-imposed $25 per REC cap. 

The ACP is not a fine. In fact, it helps ensure affordability for customers should REC market prices increase beyond $25, which has happened in recent years, Delmarva officials said. 

Those payments, which are placed in the state’s Green Energy Fund, are then reinvested in installing more locally produced energy to help reduce the amount of energy the utility must buy from the regional markets 

The “Wind and Solar” charge went into effect in 2008 and typically changes once per year when Delmarva Power files its annual application to the Public Service Commission, Hartigan said.  

The current rate is $0.006367 per kWh, which went into effect on June 1, 2024.  

The “Qualified Fuel Cell” charge is a separate charge for Bloom Energy and not tied to renewable energy credit purchases, which went into effect in 2012 and changes monthly based on monthly applications filed by Delmarva. The rate for March is $.004573, which is up from February.   d on monthly applications filed by Delmarva. The rate for March is $.004573, which is up from February.   

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com, or by calling or texting 302-598-5507.