After months of bad news, Delmarva Power customers might soon have something to celebrate. Though the electric company implemented unprecedented electric supply hikes early this spring, customers might see decreases — if minor ones — in the delivery side of their bill, amounting to an average total bill decrease of up to 3.1 percent.
Delmarva Power officials filed the proposal — which is not related to earlier hikes — with the Public Service Commission and are awaiting its decision.
“This is good news for customers, so we’re pretty confident they will approve it,” said Matt Likovich, a Delmarva Power spokesman. “(The proposed decrease) pales in comparison to the 59 percent increase, but some decrease is better than no decrease. We’re just happy there is a little bit of good news. Every little bit helps.”
Likovich said that the average non-space-heating customers — customers who do not use electric for heating purposes — will see a 3.1 decrease in their total bill with the proposed change.
Space-heating customers will see only about a .5 percent decrease. Commercial and industrial users will be affected by the decrease but the amount of the savings will depend on usage.
“This is the side of the business that is regulated and we have control over. We’re able to control costs,” Likovich said of why the electric company was able to decrease rates on the delivery side of the bill. “You look at your cost of doing business and when all was said and done, it was determined that we can institute a rate decrease on the transmission (side of the bill). It’s just looking at the bottom line.”
On May 1, seven-year caps were released on Delmarva Power’s electric rates and all of its customers suffered unprecedented rate hikes. On average, residential customers experienced a 59 percent rate hike. Commercial and industrial customers suffered hikes from 47 to 117 percent.
Governmental, commercial and residential electric cooperative efforts have stemmed from the rising prices, which are not limited to this area. Fossil-fuel prices have skyrocketed, causing rising energy prices throughout the region and the country. Since 1999, for instance, the price of natural gas has increased by about 400 percent.
Likovich said that the decrease is good news but doesn’t compare to the hikes experienced last month. To a point, though, customers do have control over their energy costs, he said.“No matter what rate classification you’re in, the bottom line is you have an opportunity to control your energy bill each month through conservation,” he said. “Customers can take it upon themselves to see if they can make some lifestyle changes. You’d be taking a proactive approach. It doesn’t stop the 59 percent increase but it makes it more manageable.”