(a) Except as set forth in subsection (e) of this section, a public utility may not make, impose, or exact any unjust or unreasonable or unduly preferential or unjustly discriminatory individual or joint rate for any product or service supplied or rendered by it within the State, or adopt, maintain or enforce any regulation, practice or measurement which is unjust, unreasonable, unduly preferential or unjustly discriminatory or otherwise in violation of law, or make, or give, directly or indirectly, any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any person or corporation or to any particular description of traffic, in any respect whatsoever.
(b) The Commission shall require all utilities operating within its jurisdiction to produce evidence at a public hearing of the need for a change in the fuel adjustment as a part of the rate-making procedure. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, such fuel adjustment may include a separate component to adjust for or correct for any difference between actual allowable fuel costs incurred by the utility and fuel costs recovered through base rates and the fuel adjustment. Notice of such hearing shall be advertised in at least 1 newspaper in each of the 3 counties. As in other applications before the Commission, the burden of proof that the fuel adjustment change is required shall be upon the utility. No change in the fuel adjustment shall be authorized by the Commission except by affirmative vote of the majority of all members appointed to the Commission. The Commission shall consider the evidence for and against the proposed change as it would all evidence in any other ratemaking procedure. Consistent with the introduction of customer choice in the supply of electricity pursuant to Chapter 10 of this title, and subject to subsection (c) of this section below, this section shall have no application to rates in effect on and after October 1, 1999, for Delmarva Power & Light Company and April 1, 2000, for Delaware Electric Cooperative.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, the Commission shall determine the actual overrecovered or underrecovered deferred fuel balance for each electric distribution company as of September 30, 1999, for Delmarva Power & Light Company and March 31, 2000, for Delaware Electric Cooperative. Such overrecovery or underrecovery shall be either returned to or collected from that electric distribution company’s retail electric customers by a mechanism that is designed to provide a full credit or charge of the actual deferred fuel balance and that the Commission shall adopt and order to be effective no later than 90 days after such dates. The Commission shall adopt either a single bill credit or charge mechanism or an alternative per kilowatt-hour credit or charge mechanism to be in effect for up to a period of 12 months, depending upon the relative size of the actual amount to be credited or charged to retail electric customers. No further adjustments of such amounts shall be required.
(d) (1) The Commission shall authorize a public utility to establish an individual or joint rate for any product supplied or service rendered within the State for the purposes of ensuring the State’s current and future economic well-being and growth where prior to authorizing such individual or joint rate the Commission finds:
a. That such rate is in the public interest;
b. That such rate prevents the loss of customers, encourages customers to expand present facilities and operations in Delaware and/or attracts new customers where necessary or appropriate to promote economic development in Delaware. This finding shall include, but is not limited to, a determination that the new or existing customer or the growth in an existing customer represents at least 25 jobs and/or at least $2 million in capital expenditures;
c. That such rate shall provide recovery of at least the incremental cost (including capital cost) of providing the relevant utility services;
d. If, how, and to what extent any discount being authorized below a relevant standard tariff rate shall be recovered; and
e. The period of time during which such rate shall remain in effect, normally up to 5 years.
(2) In addition to the above specific findings, the Commission shall also consider, among other things, the following items:
a. The utility’s load and capacity situation;
b. The portion that the relevant utility service makes up of the customer’s total operating expenses;
c. Viable economic alternatives to the utility service available to the customer;
d. The customer’s ability to relocate, if relevant;
e. Reasonable efforts that the customer has made to secure government grants and/or other concessions; and
f. The effect, if any, on competitors located in Delaware of the customer or customers to which such rate may apply.
(e) (1) The Commission may authorize an electric or natural gas public utility to establish an individual or joint rate for any product supplied or service rendered within the State for the purpose of ensuring basic utility service for the State’s low-income residential customers where prior to authorizing such individual or joint rate, the Commission finds all of the following:
a. That such rate is in the public interest.
b. That such rate provides a 20% discount from standard residential distribution costs.
(2) Cost of credits and incremental administrative costs shall be deferred and recoverable through the Low-Income Program Fund described in § 1014(b) of this title or other means if a utility does not participate in a Low-Income Program Fund, subject to commission review and reconciliation on an annual basis. Commission-regulated utilities must petition the Commission to open a regulatory asset to track deferred costs associated with implementing the low-income rate. Commission-regulated utilities may not request nor receive a return on the regulatory asset. Commission-regulated utilities may recover incremental administrative costs through the deferral process.
(3) An electric or natural gas public utility approved for a low-income rate under this subsection must include information about the rate in a bill insert.
(4) Eligibility for a low-income rate under this section will be determined annually as follows:
a. A participating electric or natural gas public utility may submit the names and other required personal identifying information of applicants for the low-income residential rate to the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), but only if the applicant has provided written or electronic consent for the sharing of the applicant’s information between the participating electric or natural gas public utility and DHSS; or
b. Upon receipt of an applicant’s consent and information, DHSS will notify the participating electric or natural gas utility if the applicant is eligible for the low-income rate, based on participation in, or eligibility to participate in, a means-tested program administered by the Division of Social Services.
c. Written or electronic consent for information to be shared must be obtained annually upon redetermination of eligibility for the low-income residential rate.
d. For purposes of this section, the term “low-income residential customer” means a residential utility customer who is eligible for a means-tested program administered by the Division of Social Services.
(5) An electric or natural gas utility that offers a low-income residential rate must provide customers approved for that rate with information and referrals to available energy efficiency programs such as those offered through Energize Delaware.
(6) The Commission must review a discount rate authorized under paragraph (e)(1) of this section every 5 years and determine whether such rate should be re-authorized.