SB 60 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND UTILITY RATES.

Hansen DELAWARE& STATESen. SENATE 153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE AMENDMENT NO.

2Sturgeon TO& SENATESen. BILL NO.

60Huxtable AMEND& SenateRep. Bill No.

60Heffernan by& deletingRep. lines 10 through 12 and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

“(2)Phillips Organizational& orRep. membership dues, or other contributions, to any organization, association, institution, corporation, or other entity to the extent that the dues or contributions are used for lobbying or other similar activities intended to influence the outcome of any local, state, or federal legislation, ordinance, resolution, rule, ballot measure, or regulatory decision.” FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.

60Griffith by& deletingRep. lines 37 through 40 and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

“(c)Burns For& theSen. years 2026 through and including 2028, the Public Service Commission shall not allow an electric distribution company to recover in rates annual capital expenses in excess of $125 million dollars to maintain system reliability, absent emergency or extraordinary circumstances, including an inability to meet, but not exceed, Public Service Commission reliability standards, that require greater capital expenditures by the electric distribution company.

TheTownsend recovery& ofSen. any capital expenses in excess of the $125 million dollar cap, arising from emergency or extraordinary circumstances, are subject to review and approval by the Public Service Commission, and the application to the Commission must be filed within six months of the incurring of the initial capital expenses sought to be recovered.

”Hoffner SYNOPSIS& ThisRep. amendment restricts a public utility from recovering from customers organizational or membership dues but only to the extent that the organization engages in lobbying or similar activities intended to influence the outcome of legislation, rules, ballot measures, or regulatory decisions.

WithK. respect to the $125 million dollar cap on annual capital expenses at lines 37 through 40 of the bill, this amendment adds an exception for emergency or extraordinary circumstances, including natural disasters and tariffs, that require the electric distribution company to incur greater capital expenses above the cap.

Williams Sens.

Hocker, Lockman, Pettyjohn, Pinkney, Seigfried;

Reps.

Bush, Carson, Gorman, Harris, Lambert, Morrison, Neal, Snyder-Hall DELAWARE STATE SENATE 153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE BILL NO.

60 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND UTILITY RATES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1.

Amend Subchapter III, Chapter 1, Title 26 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 316.

Cost recovery prohibitions.

(a) The Commission shall ensure that all regulated utilities do not use customer funds to subsidize nonregulated activities.

(b) A public utility shall not recover the following costs from its customers, whether as part of proposed base rate costs, a rider, or other charges:

(1) Expenses for lobbying or other activities meant to influence the outcome of any local, state, or federal legislation, ordinance, resolution, or ballot measure.

(2) Organizational or membership dues, or other contributions, to any organization, association, institution, corporation, or other entity that engages in lobbying or other similar activities intended to influence the outcome of any local, state, or federal legislation, ordinance, resolution, rule, ballot measure, or regulatory decision.

(3) Contributions to political candidates, campaign committees, issue committees, or independent expenditure committees or similar political expenses.

(4) Charitable giving expenses, including contributions to organizations qualified under section 501 (c)(3) or 501 (c)(4) of the federal “Internal Revenue Code of 1986”, 26 U.S.C.

Sec.

501, as amended.

(5) Advertising and public relations expenses that do not directly relate to a purpose or program that is required or authorized under statute or commission rule or order.

a.

Advertising and public relations expenses for which cost recovery is prohibited include:

1.

Communications to promote or improve the utility’s brand.

SD :

FJM :

ALW Page 1 of 2 Released:

02/21/2025 02:34 PM 2.

Expenses for the purpose of influencing public opinion about the utility.

3.

Expenses intended to create good will toward the utility from the general public.