Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 358 – Issuance of renewable energy credits; reporting requirement; …
(a) The Commission shall establish by regulation the mechanisms under which a REC and SREC shall be created and recorded with respect to the entity generating electricity using eligible energy resources for use in complying with the renewable energy portfolio standards of this subchapter. Once the GATS system is operational and the PJM Interconnection, or a related organization currently known as PJM Environmental Services, Inc. (PJM-ESI), begins issuing RECs and SRECs, the Commission may issue an order approving the use of RECs and SRECs issued by the PJM Interconnection or PJM-ESI for compliance with the renewable energy portfolio Standards of this subchapter.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 358
- Alternative compliance payment: means a payment of a certain dollar amount per megawatt hour, which a retail electricity supplier or municipal electric company may submit in lieu of supplying the minimum percentage from Eligible Energy Resources required under Schedule I in § 354 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- Commission: means the Delaware Public Service Commission. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- Compliance year: means the calendar year beginning with June 1 and ending with May 31 of the following year, for which a retail electricity supplier or municipal electric company must demonstrate that it has met the requirements of this subchapter. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- Eligible energy resources: include the following energy sources located within or imported into the PJM region:
- Fund: means the Delaware Green Energy Fund. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- GATS: means the generation attribute tracking system developed by PJM. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- Municipal electric company: means a public corporation created by contract between 2 or more municipalities pursuant to provisions of Chapter 13 of Title 22 and the electric utilities that are municipally owned within the State of Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- PJM interconnection: means the regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in the PJM region, or its successors at law. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- Retail electricity supplier: means a person or entity that sells electrical energy to end-use customers in Delaware, including but not limited to nonregulated power producers, electric utility distribution companies supplying standard offer, default service, or any successor service to end-use customers. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- RPS: means the percentage of electricity sales at retail in the state that is to be derived from eligible energy resources. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- Solar Alternative Compliance Payment: means a payment of a certain dollar amount per megawatt-hour, which a retail electricity supplier or municipal electric supplier may submit in lieu of supplying the minimum percentage from solar photovoltaics required under Schedule I in § 354 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 352
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- system: shall mean a facility within this State which is constructed in whole or in part in, on, under or over any highway, road, street, alley, or other public place and which is operated to perform the service of receiving and amplifying the signals of 1 or more radio and/or television broadcasting stations and distributing such signals by cable, wire or other means to members of the public who subscribe to such service; provided that nothing herein is intended to prohibit any system from engaging in any other activity not expressly prohibited by law; except that such definition shall not include (i) any system which serves fewer than 50 subscribers; or (ii) any system which serves only the residents of 1 or more apartment dwellings or mobile home or trailer parks under common ownership, control or management, and commercial establishments located on the premises of such dwellings; or (iii) telephone, telegraph or electric utilities in those cases where the activity of such utility in connection with a cable system is limited to leasing or renting to cable systems, cables, wires, poles, towers or other electronic equipment or rights to use real property as part of, or for use in connection with, the operation of a cable system. See Delaware Code Title 26 Sec. 102
- Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) Beginning June 1, 2007, each retail electricity supplier shall submit an annual report to the Commission, on a form and by a date specified by the Commission, that:
(1) Demonstrates that the retail electricity supplier has complied with the renewable energy portfolio standards established pursuant to this subchapter and includes the submission of the required amount of renewable energy credits; or
(2) Demonstrates the amount of electricity sales for the compliance year by which the retail electricity supplier failed to meet the renewable energy portfolio standard.
(c) Beginning June 1, 2007, each municipal electric company shall submit an annual report to the Delaware Energy Office and the Controller General that:
(1) Demonstrates that the municipal electric company has complied with the RPS established pursuant to this subchapter and includes the submission of the required amount of renewable energy credits; or
(2) Demonstrates the amount of electricity sales for the compliance year by which the municipal electric company failed to meet the RPS.
(d) In lieu of standard means of compliance with this subchapter, any commission-regulated utility may pay into the Fund an alternative compliance payment of $25 for each megawatt-hour deficiency between the credits available and used by a commission-regulated utility in a given compliance year for eligible nonsolar renewable energy resources and the credits necessary for such commission-regulated utility to meet the year’s renewable energy portfolio standard. A municipal electric company may pay the alternative compliance payment into a fund established by its municipal members. If alternative compliance payments representing 15% or more of the total number of RECs for eligible nonsolar renewable energy resources are paid into the Fund for each of 2 consecutive compliance years, the minimum cumulative percentage from eligible energy resources specified in Schedule I of § 354(a) of this title remains at the percentage specified for the immediately preceding year and does not increase from that percentage until a year passes during which less than 15% of the REC obligation is satisfied by alternative compliance payments. After the year in which less than 15% of the REC obligation is satisfied by alternative compliance payments, the annual increases in Schedule I of § 354(a) of this title resume, starting from the percentage specified for the year immediately before the current compliance year. A freeze of the minimum cumulative percentage from eligible nonsolar technology does not permit a freeze of the minimum cumulative percentage from eligible solar energy resources.
(1)-(4) [Repealed.]
(e) In lieu of standard means of compliance with this subchapter, a commission-regulated utility may pay into the Fund a Solar Alternative Compliance Payment of $150 for each megawatt-hour deficiency between the credits available and used by a commission-regulated utility in a given compliance year and the credits necessary for such commission-regulated utility to meet the year’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard. A municipal electric company may pay the solar alternative compliance payment into a fund established by its municipal members. If solar alternative compliance payments representing 15% or more of the total number of SRECs are paid into the Fund for each of 2 consecutive compliance years, the minimum cumulative percentage from solar technology specified in Schedule I of § 354(a) of this title remains at the percentage specified for the immediately preceding year and does not increase from that percentage until a year passes during which less than 15% of the SREC obligation is satisfied by solar alternative compliance payments. After the year in which less than 15% of the total SREC obligation is satisfied by solar alternative compliance payments, the annual increases set forth in Schedule I of § 354(a) of this title resume, starting from the percentage specified for the year immediately before the current compliance year. A freeze of the minimum cumulative percentage from solar technology does not freeze the minimum cumulative percentage from eligible energy resources.
(1)-(3) [Repealed.]
(f) (1) Recovery of costs. — A retail electricity supplier or municipal electric company may recover, through a nonbypassable surcharge, actual dollar for dollar costs incurred in complying with a state mandated renewable energy portfolio standard, except that any compliance fee assessed pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall be recoverable only to the extent authorized by paragraph (f)(2) of this section.
(2) A retail electricity supplier or municipal electric company may recover any alternative compliance payment if:
a. The payment of an alternative compliance payment is the least cost measure to ratepayers as compared to the purchase of eligible energy resources to comply with a renewable energy portfolio standard; or
b. There are insufficient eligible energy resources available for the electric supplier to comply with a renewable energy portfolio standard.
(3) Any cost recovered under this section shall be disclosed to customers at least annually on inserts accompanying customer bills.
75 Del. Laws, c. 205, § ?1; 76 Del. Laws, c. 165, §§ ?7-9; 77 Del. Laws, c. 451, §§ ?3, 13-19; 83 Del. Laws, c. 3, § 2;