Bill Text: DE HCR92 | 2015-2016 | 148th General Assembly | Draft

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Bill Title: Expressing The Opposition Of The 148th Delaware General Assembly To The Pjm Interconnection Decision Allocating The Majority Of Costs Associated With A $400 Million Improvement Project Benefitting A New Jersey Power Plant Complex To Delaware Ratepayers.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 19-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-23 - Introduced and Assigned to Energy Committee in House [HCR92 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2015-HCR92-Draft.html

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SPONSOR:	Rep. Hensley & Sen. Pettyjohn;
	Reps. D. Short, Hudson, Briggs King, Collins, Dukes, Gray, Kenton, Miro, Outten, Ramone, Smyk, Spiegelman, Wilson, Yearick, Jaques, Keeley; Sens. Ennis, Hocker, Simpson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

148th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 92

EXPRESSING THE OPPOSITION OF THE 148TH DELAWARE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO THE PJM INTERCONNECTION DECISION ALLOCATING THE MAJORITY OF COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH A $400 MILLION IMPROVEMENT PROJECT BENEFITTING A NEW JERSEY POWER PLANT COMPLEX TO DELAWARE RATEPAYERS.

WHEREAS, PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in Delaware and all or parts of 13 other states and the District of Columbia; and

WHEREAS, PJM Interconnection has proposed the construction of a high-voltage electricity transmission line connecting the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear generating facilities on Artificial Island to a New Castle County substation; and

WHEREAS, the leading purpose of this line is to facilitate the stable and most-profitable operation of the Salem and Hope Creek facilities at full capacity; and

WHEREAS, the transmission line currently carries a projected cost of $272 million and is the main component of approximately $400 million of upgrades to the Artificial Island power plant complex; and

WHEREAS, these facilities are located in the State of New Jersey and are collectively owned by Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) and Exelon Generation LLC; and

WHEREAS, while the transmission line will terminate in Delaware (the Delmarva Region of the PJM Interconnection) technical analysis reveals that termination of the line in any of the neighboring zones would equally resolve the stability issues at Artificial Island; and

WHEREAS, PJM Interconnection is responsible for allocating the costs of projects within its territory to ratepayers; and

WHEREAS, PJM Interconnection's calculations are supposed to ensure that costs and benefits are roughly commensurate when allocating financial obligations; and

WHEREAS, while there are presently differing interpretations regarding the exact percentage of the costs that would be borne by Delawareans, there is no dispute that more than half this expense would fall on Delaware ratepayers; and

WHEREAS, the Delaware Public Service Commission contends that Delaware will receive less than 10 percent of the transmission line's proposed economic benefit; and

WHEREAS, the PJM Interconnection has seemingly made an incongruous decision to burden Delawareans with costs of the Artificial Island complex improvement project that are vastly disproportionate with the benefits The First State may realize from the work; and

WHEREAS, the Delaware Office of the Public Advocate estimates monthly electricity costs for all Delaware residential and business customers could rise dramatically and permanently if the project and cost allocations move forward as presently proposed; and,

WHEREAS,  the project's costs will be added to the bills of Delmarva Power, Delaware Electric Cooperative, and Delaware Municipal Electrical Corporation customers; and

WHEREAS, significantly higher electricity rates increase the burden on families, make Delaware companies less competitive, and reduce our state's attractiveness as a business venue; and

WHEREAS, Delaware's Congressional delegation, Gov. Jack Markell, the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, the Delaware Public Service Commission, and the Delaware Office of the Public Advocate have all taken positions opposing the PJM Interconnection's actions in this matter; and

WHEREAS, the cost allocation decision of the PJM Interconnection has been approved by the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC), and another hearing on the issue has been requested (docket #EL15-95-000).

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 148th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that the General Assembly opposes the PJM Interconnection's imbalanced cost allocation decision.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 148th General Assembly supports the appeal of this project and urges the FERC to reject the conclusions of PJM Interconnection.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that should this appeal fail, the 148th General Assembly supports whatever further action may be required to resolve this dispute in a manner that is equitable for Delaware's electricity consumers.

SYNOPSIS

The 148th Delaware General Assembly opposes the decision of the PJM Interconnection to allocate the majority of the costs of the Artificial Island improvements to the residents and businesses of The First State.

The PJM Interconnection actions in this matter appear to violate its operational guidelines to impose project costs to ratepayers that are roughly commensurate with the benefits they accrue from it.

The 148th General Assembly supports the rehearing of this project to the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) and urges the FERC to reconsider its previous decision.

Should this appeal fail, Delaware lawmakers support whatever further action may be required to resolve this dispute in a manner that is equitable for Delaware's electricity consumers.