Why should Delaware care?
High electricity prices have been a top concern for Delaware residents, and many fear proposed data center projects could raise costs further. A slate of bills aiming to prevent further price spikes passed the legislature in the late hours of the session.
A trio of bills aimed at reining in rising energy costs in Delaware passed the General Assembly on Tuesday, the final day of the legislative session.
One would limit the amount of infrastructure spending that the private utility, Delmarva Power, could pass on to customers.
Another would require power hungry data centers to bring their own energy generation to the state within 10 years of their construction. And the third would designate data centers as the first to be cut off from grid power in a blackout, and other provisions.
In all, they amounted to the latest legislative backlash to proposals to build data centers amid an electricity supply crunch in Delaware. The states’ bills followed data center regulations that the New Castle County Council passed in March.
Gov. Matt Meyer has not said if he supports the bill that would require data centers to supply energy. He has indicated support for the other two bills in recent weeks.
The bills come as Delaware residents have struggled with high electricity bills. Critics say that proposed data centers could make those bills surge even higher.
New data center proposals in Delaware have a combined energy demand that could double the state’s entire electricity usage. An independent analysis showed that scenario could raise wholesale energy prices by as much as 80%.
What do the bills do?
Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 326, the infrastructure spending limits, overwhelmingly – an unexpected development after hints emerged Monday that a fight could be percolating with the introduction of an amendment to weaken the legislation.
Beyond limiting some infrastructure spending, the bill would place several other regulations on Delmarva Power, including mandating audits of management.
Lawmakers also passed House Bill 233, which would make data centers the first to be cut off from power in a blackout and would have strengthened safeguards to ensure they paid the full costs of the energy they use.
Lastly, they passed House Bill 445, which would require data center developers to supply all of the power they use within 10 years of beginning operations and require some of that power to be renewable.
The two data center bills faced late-night deliberations in both chambers.
Republicans and some Democrats in the Senate questioned why those bills were necessary now, or if they could wait until next session. Sen. Eric Buckson (R-South Dover) argued that lawmakers needed more time to deliberate them.
“Unless the goal is to outright ban these things [data centers] in the state of Delaware — which might be an option — if it’s not the goal, then we should get the bill right,” Buckson said.
Buckson introduced another bill to place a seven-month moratorium on data center development, which Senate Democrats shot down without comment. The Senate ultimately passed the bills on party lines.
