Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 6 D · 2 R cosponsors

SB 321 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATED TO UTILITY BILLING.

Last action — Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced May 15, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 74% · high confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 9 sponsors

    9 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (6 D · 2 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

In plain language

The bill establishes net crediting for utility billing by Delmarva Power and Light.

This legislation amends utility billing practices to implement net crediting, simplifying billing for subscribers and coordinators. Net crediting will allow for clearer deductions of subscription charges from monthly credits.

What this means for you
  • Consumers: Consumers will benefit from a simpler and more transparent utility billing process.

Summary

Net crediting is the preferred utility consolidated billing methodology for Delmarva Power and Light as it has already been successfully implemented in Atlantic City Electric, Pepco Maryland, and Delmarva Maryland jurisdictions. Net crediting delivers a simpler, more transparent experience for both subscribers and subscription coordinators by netting subscription charges from monthly credits on behalf of the subscribers, who receive the net credit. Then, the utility aggregates those subscription charges on behalf of the subscription coordinators, who receive a payment from Delmarva. Net crediting marries the concept of world class customer experience with market scalability, while also being the lowest risk option for Delmarva's customers.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

172 added · 77 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amendments to SB 321 include several changes to the language regarding community-owned energy generating facilities, specifically around eligibility criteria and operational permissions. Notably, dates mentioned in relation to certification have been adjusted, with changes from "September 1" to "September 2" or "September 3.” Additionally, terminology has been clarified to include "Community-owned energy generating facility or Subscription Coordinator" to specify the roles involved. These modifications aim to improve clarity and ensure more precise definitions within the legislation.

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Latest
Hansen DELAWARE STATE SENATE 153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE AMENDMENT NO.
Hansen & Rep.
1 TO SENATE BILL NO.
Heffernan & Rep.
321 AMEND Senate Bill No.
Burns Sen.
321 on line 19 by deleting “September 1” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “September 2”.
Pinkney;
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
Reps.
321 on line 25 by deleting “September 1” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “September 2”.
Berry, Carson, Lambert, Phillips, Snyder-Hall DELAWARE STATE SENATE 153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE BILL NO.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
321 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATED TO UTILITY BILLING.
321 on line 32 by deleting “September 2” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “September 3”.
WHEREAS, Community Energy Facilities (CEFs) expand access to renewable energy for all customers, including renters and low- to moderate-income (LMI) households;
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
and WHEREAS, Utility Consolidated Billing (UCB) with net crediting has been successfully implemented in neighboring states such as Maryland and New Jersey, improving billing transparency, reducing administrative burdens, and expanding participation in community energy;
321 on line 38 by deleting “September 1” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “September 2”.
and WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to authorize consolidated billing in Delaware for community energy subscriptions, to reduce billing confusion, and to ensure the financial stability of subscriber coordinators.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
NOW, THEREFORE:
321 on line 43 by inserting “Community-owned energy generating facility or” after “of a” and before “Subscription” therein.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
Section 1.
321 on line 46 by inserting “Community-owned energy generating facility or” after “the” and before “Subscription” therein.
Amend Chapter 10, Title 26 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
§ 1014.
321 on line 49 by deleting “subscription coordinator” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “Community-owned energy generating facility or Subscription Coordinator”.
Public purpose programs and consumer education [For application of this section, see 85 Del.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
Laws, c.
321 on lines 66 and 67 by deleting “residential and small-to-mid-sized commercial subscribers” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “customer classes”.
83, § 2].
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
(f) Individual customers may aggregate their individual meters in conjunction with a community-owned energy generating facility provided that:
321 on line 69 by deleting “September 2” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “September 3”.
(14) Every 3 years, the community-owned energy generating facility must certify to the Public Service Commission in writing that it meets the low low- to moderate- income eligibility criteria provided in this chapter, provided that Community-owned energy generating facilities with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Commission on or before September 1, 2026 may elect to only include low income customers as set forth in § 1014 (16)e.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
(16) Before a community-owned energy generating facility receives permission to operate pursuant to the interconnection process from the electric distribution company, a community-owned energy generating facility shall provide the electric distribution company with the following information:
321 on lines 69 and 70 by deleting “, unless a subscriber elects otherwise” as it appears therein.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
321 on line 72 by deleting “September 1” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “September 2”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
321 on line 71 by deleting “However, a Community-owned energy generating” as it appears therein.
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06/04/2026 11:18 AM FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
05/15/2026 03:47 PM e.
321 by deleting lines 72 through 78 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Before a community-owned energy generating facility with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Commission on or before September 1, 2026, receives permission to interconnect with an electric distribution company, the community-owned energy generating facility must certify to the electric distribution company and the Commission that participants in the community-owned energy generating facility include at least 15% low income customers whose gross annual income, by family size, is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, or 60% of the state median household income published by the United States Census Bureau, whichever is greater.
“However, a Community-owned energy generating facility with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Commission on or before September 2, 2026 may elect not to participate in consolidated billing if the Community-owned energy generating facility submits a formal request in writing to the Commission-regulated electric public utility by no later than October 1, 2028.”.
f.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
Before a community-owned energy generating facility with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Commission on or after September 2, 2026, receives permission to interconnect with an electric distribution company, the community-owned energy generating facility must certify to the electric distribution company and the Commission that at least 15% of its kilowatt–hour output is served to low- to moderate- income customers whose gross annual income, by family size, is at or below 350% of the federal poverty guidelines, or 80% of the state median household income published by the United States Census Bureau, whichever is greater.
321 on line 79 by deleting “community energy facility is solely” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “Community-owned energy generating facility or the Subscription Coordinator is”.
Provided however, that community-owned energy generating facilities with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Commission on or before September 1, 2026, may elect to certify under the provisions of this section.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
§1014A.
321 on line 81 by deleting “through consolidated billing” as it appears therein.
Consolidated Billing.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
(a) Definitions.
321 on line 83 by deleting “subscription coordinator” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “Community-owned energy generating facility or Subscription Coordinator”.
For purposes of this section:
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
(1) “Consolidated billing” means a mechanism that requires an electric utility under the regulation of the Delaware Public Service Commission to, at the request of a Subscription Coordinator:
321 on line 85 by deleting “September 2” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “September 3”.
a.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
Include the monthly subscription charge of a community energy facility on the subscriber’s utility bill.
321 on line 90 by deleting “September 1” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “September 2”.
b.
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FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
Remit payment received for those charges to the Subscription Coordinator.
321 on line 100 and 101 by deleting “subscription coordinators” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “Community-owned energy generating facilities or Subscription Coordinators”.
(2) “Net crediting” means a process in which the Commission-regulated electric public utility subtracts the community energy subscription charge from the monthly community energy credit, applies the savings value to the customer’s bill, and remits the subscription charge directly to the subscription coordinator.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
(3) "Subscriber" means a retail customer of a Commission-regulated electric public utility that holds a subscription to a community energy facility.
321 on line 108 by inserting “of the value of the subscriber bill credits” after “%” and before “, in” therein.
(4) "Subscription Coordinator" means:
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
321 on line 110 by deleting “subscription coordinators” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “Community-owned energy generating facilities or Subscription Coordinators”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
321 on line 115 by deleting “On or before April 1, 2027, the Delaware Public Service” and inserting in lieu thereof “The”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
321 on line 117 by deleting “subscriber organizations” as it appears therein an inserting in lieu thereof “Community-owned energy generating facilities”.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
321 by deleting lines 135 and 136 in their entirety.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
321 on line 137 by deleting “b.” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “a.”.
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06/04/2026 11:18 AM FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
05/15/2026 03:47 PM a.
321 on line 142 by deleting “c.” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “b.”.
A person that has a contractual arrangement with a community energy facility, whether having received a final certificate to operate or not, to provide services such as:
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
1.
321 on line 144 by deleting “d.” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “c.”.
Market community energy facility projects or otherwise provide community energy facility services under its own brand name.
SYNOPSIS This amendment makes the following changes to Senate Bill No.
2.
321:
Perform any administrative actions to connect or enroll customers with community energy facility projects or allocate subscriptions.
1) Makes minor changes to the dates in the Bill.
This does not include vendors or subcontractors handling only back-office functions such as electronic data interchange between the community energy facility, subscription coordinator, and the utility company.
2) Requires Commission-regulated electric public utilities to offer consolidated billing to all customer classes.
3.
3) Allows a community-owned energy generating facility with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Public Service Commission on or before September 2, 2026, to elect not to participate in consolidated billing provided that the facility submits a formal request in writing to the utility on or before October 1, 2028.
Manage interactions between a community energy facility and an electric distribution company related to subscribers.
4) At lines 79-80 of the Bill, clarifies that the community-owned energy generating facility or the Subscription Coordinator are the parties responsible for managing their customer subscriptions.
This does not include vendors or subcontractors handling only back-office functions such as electronic data interchange between the community energy facility, subscription coordinator, and the utility company.
5) At lines 108-110 of the Bill, clarifies the language about the fee that utilities may charge to hold accounts in escrow to cover instances of customer arrearages.
(b) Consolidated billing authorization.
6) Inserts technical corrections.
(1) Commission-regulated electric public utilities must offer consolidated billing for all residential and small-to-mid-sized commercial subscribers.
(2) Consolidated billing shall be the default billing method for all community energy facilities with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Commission on or after September 2, 2026, unless a subscriber elects otherwise.
Any Community-owned energy generating facility participating in consolidated billing under this section must comply with § 1014 (f)(16)f and § 1014A (c)(2).
However, a Community-owned energy generating facilities with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Commission on or before September 1, 2026, may elect to not participate in consolidated billing if the facility operator submits a formal request in writing to the Commission-regulated electric public utility by no later than September 1, 2027, subscribers should contact their subscription coordinator to unenroll from utility consolidated billing, not the Commission-regulated electric public utility.
Enrollment transactions are the responsibility of the Subscription Coordinator.
Subscription Coordinators can utilize a 0% savings rate in the community energy portal to opt individual subscribers out of utility consolidated billing, which would allow them to continue invoicing those customers separately.
(3) The community energy facility is solely responsible for managing their customer subscriptions.
(4) Subscription Coordinators may not impose subscription fees, early termination penalties, or charges unrelated to commodity service through consolidated billing.
(c) Consumer protections - credit.
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05/15/2026 03:47 PM 83 (1) No subscription coordinator may require residential subscribers to undergo a credit check or pay upfront enrollment fees.
(2) For projects with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Commission on or after September 2, 2026, the savings rate for residential customers shall be at least 10%, the savings rate for any income qualified subscriber as defined by § 1014 paragraph (f)(16)f.
of this title shall be at least 20%, even when accounting for any subscription or other fees charged by the subscribing organization or Community-owned energy generating facility.
(3) For projects with a Final Certificate to Operate issued by the Commission on or before September 1, 2026, the subscription value for residential customers must provide for a net discount when applying the monetary value of the bill credit on a bill issued by the electric company to the subscriber for electric service, even when accounting for any subscription or other fees charged by the subscribing organization or Community-owned energy generating facility.
(4) Community energy facility owners are solely responsible for managing their customer subscriptions through the utility's community energy portal.
(d) Utility obligations.
(1) Commission-regulated electric public utilities shall:
a.
Apply community energy credits and subscription charges on a single consolidated bill.
b.
Provide timely electronic remittance of collected subscription charges to subscription coordinators.
c.
Payments to subscription coordinators (aggregate subscription charges credit less fees assessed pursuant to §1014A(c)(2) and (3)) would be received by within 60 business days of their billing date.
(2) Utilities may recover reasonable administrative and information technology costs of consolidated billing through a tariffed fee approved by the Delaware Public Service Commission.
Any such fee may not exceed 1% of the value of subscriber bill credits unless the Commission finds a higher fee just and reasonable.
(3) Utilities may assess a fee not to exceed 0.25%, in addition to the Commission-approved administrative fee, to hold accounts in escrow to cover instances of customer arrearage.
Unused funds shall be refunded to subscription coordinators on an annual basis.
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05/15/2026 03:47 PM (4) Every 2 years, the Commission, in conjunction with the regulated utility, must perform a review of the fees outlined in this section and provide recommendations to the legislature, as needed, to ensure adequate recovery of costs associated with the implementation of consolidated billing outlined herein.
(e) Implementation.
(1) On or before April 1, 2027, the Delaware Public Service Commission shall adopt regulations establishing protocols for consolidated billing, including:
a.
Data exchange standards for electric companies and subscriber organizations, and any approved subscription coordinators.
b.
Require all electric companies to report billing and crediting errors to the Commission on a regular schedule.
c.
Impose requirements for monthly application of bill credits to subscriber bills and application of rollover credits.
d.
Require all electric companies to show applied and banked credits on each bill rendered to a subscriber.
e.
Implement any additional changes the Commission determines will improve billing and crediting processes for subscribers.
(2) The Commission shall convene a stakeholder working group, including Delmarva Power and Light, Subscription Coordinators, the Division of the Public Advocate, representatives from the community solar industry with operations in Delaware, representatives from the residential and commercial solar industry with operations in Delaware, environmental interests, and low-income representatives, to provide recommendations to the Commission to improve the enrollment and operation of the community energy facility program outlined in this title.
The Commission must deliver a final report detailing the results and recommendations of the stakeholder working group to the General Assembly no later than January 31, 2027.
The report must include recommendations on:
a.
The consolidated billing framework, though the working group shall prioritize aligning implementation with existing consolidated billing frameworks in other common markets.
b.
Recommended changes to the Community Energy Facilities program to improve low- to moderate- income customer enrollment, including how to expand elevated discount rates to cover moderate income families, adjusting how an expanded low- to moderate- income customer requirement SD :
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05/15/2026 03:47 PM shall be applied, and recommending alternative methods of satisfying an expanded minimum for low- to moderate- income customer enrollment, and alternative methods of enrolling customers.
c.
Methods of strengthening consumer protections relating to participation in the Community Energy Facilities program.
d.
Any other topic the Commission or stakeholder working group deems necessary to achieve the outcomes of the Community Energy Facilities program as outlined in this title.
(3) Consolidated billing shall be available to all community energy facilities no later than October 1, 2027.
Section 2.
This Act shall take effect upon its enactment, except that subsection (d) of § 1014A of Title 26 of the Delaware Code shall govern implementation timelines.
SYNOPSIS Net crediting is the preferred utility consolidated billing methodology for Delmarva Power and Light as it has already been successfully implemented in Atlantic City Electric, Pepco Maryland, and Delmarva Maryland jurisdictions.
Net crediting delivers a simpler, more transparent experience for both subscribers and subscription coordinators by netting subscription charges from monthly credits on behalf of the subscribers, who receive the net credit.
Then, the utility aggregates those subscription charges on behalf of the subscription coordinators, who receive a payment from Delmarva.
Net crediting marries the concept of world class customer experience with market scalability, while also being the lowest risk option for Delmarva's customers.
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Action History

  1. Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT

  2. Reported Out of Committee (Natural Resources & Energy) in House with 6 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

  3. Assigned to Natural Resources & Energy Committee in House

  4. Passed By Senate. Votes: 17 YES 3 NO 1 ABSENT

  5. Amendment SA 1 to SB 321 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT

  6. Amendment SA 1 to SB 321 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  7. Reported Out of Committee (Environment, Energy & Transportation) in Senate with 4 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits

  8. Introduced and Assigned to Environment, Energy & Transportation Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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9 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 53 not signed on · 1 voted No

Sponsors (9)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (53)

53 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 53 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

SM

Passed 39 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 26001
Republican 13001
Total 39002
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Alonna Berry Democratic Yea
Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic Yea
Cyndie Romer Democratic Yea
DeShanna U Neal Democratic Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Frank Burns Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Josue O Ortega Democratic Yea
Kamela T Smith Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Mara Gorman Democratic Yea
Melanie Ross Levin Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Sophie Phillips Democratic Not Voting
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Not Voting
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeff Hilovsky Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea
Valerie Jones Giltner Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 17 Yea · 3 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 14001
Republican 3300
Total 17301
% of votes cast 81%14%0%5%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Daniel Cruce Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Not Voting
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Kyra L. Hoffner Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
Ray Seigfried Democratic Yea
Russell Huxtable Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Nay
Dave G. Lawson Republican Nay
David L. Wilson Republican Nay
Eric Buckson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 321 do?
Net crediting is the preferred utility consolidated billing methodology for Delmarva Power and Light as it has already been successfully implemented in Atlantic City Electric, Pepco Maryland, and Delmarva Maryland jurisdictions. Net crediting delivers a simpler, more transparent experience for both subscribers and subscription coordinators by netting subscription charges from monthly credits on behalf of the subscribers, who receive the net credit. Then, the utility aggregates those subscription charges on behalf of the subscription coordinators, who receive a payment from Delmarva. Net crediting marries the concept of world class customer experience with market scalability, while also being the lowest risk option for Delmarva's customers.
Who sponsors SB 321?
SB 321 is sponsored by Stell Parker Selby, Claire Snyder-Hall (Democratic), David L. Wilson (Republican), Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), William J. Carson (Democratic), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), Russell Huxtable (Democratic), and Stephanie L. Hansen (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 321?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced May 15, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 321?
Track SB 321 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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