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HA1TOHB445 • 2025

This Amendment to House Bill No.

Energy

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Heffernan
Last action: 2026-06-16
Official status: Passed 6/16/26
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Amendment Defining Large Energy Facilities and Power Rules

This amendment sets rules for very large power users by defining them, requiring new or procured clean energy from specific nearby areas, shortening contract terms to 15 years, and allowing regulators to manage compliance.

What This Bill Does

Defines a 'large energy use facility' based on monthly power demand levels of 30 to 100 megawatts depending on usage type or industry classification.
Requires these facilities to produce enough power in the state or buy it from new generation within Delaware, the DPL transmission zone, or land-connected PJM zones with sufficient infrastructure.
Allows nuclear power and battery storage as acceptable clean energy sources but bans single-cycle or open cycle gas generators.
Shortens the required binding contract with regulators to 15 years instead of 30 years and requires a financial bond for failure to meet obligations.
Permits facilities that cannot meet all requirements immediately to follow a 10-year plan, though they may have their power cut during high-cost or reliability events.

Who It Names or Affects

Facilities using large amounts of electricity meeting specific demand thresholds, including those primarily engaged in services under code 518210.
The Public Service Commission and other electric utility regulatory bodies that manage contracts and rules.
Electric distribution companies that may add their own requirements for these facilities.

Terms To Know

Large energy use facility: A plant or building using at least 30 to 100 megawatts of power, depending on how consistently it runs and what industry it is in.
PJM transmission zone: Specific geographic areas where electricity grids are managed together; this law allows buying power from zones touching Delaware by land if they have enough infrastructure to deliver the energy.
Curtailable: A facility that agrees to have its power supply reduced or cut off during times of high cost determined by regulators or grid reliability problems.

Limits and Unknowns

The exact rules for how regulators will manage these requirements must be created by the regulatory body.
Electric distribution companies can add extra rules on top of this law, so total requirements may vary by location.

Bill History

2026-06-16 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Placed With Bill
2026-06-16 Delaware General Assembly
Passed In House by Voice Vote

Official Summary Text

This Amendment to House Bill No. 445 updates the Act to incorporate a standardized definition of what constitutes a large energy use facility; allows the procurement of new power generation, in addition to building new power generation; expands the location of acceptable energy generation to include PJM transmission zones contiguous by land with the DPL zone with sufficient transmission resources, thereby allowing generation like expansions of the Salem nuclear generation facility or other nearby generation to comply; clarifies the definition of new generation to ensure new large energy use facilities are bringing truly new or expanded generation; clarifies the types of generation resources that are eligible as clean energy generation; excludes single-cycle or open cycle generation as acceptable forms of generation; specifies that large energy use facilities that rely on a 10-year plan to meet compliance may be curtailable and must meet a minimum component of clean or storage as backup forms of generation if they continue to operate; makes the required contract with the Public Service Commission 15 years, instead of 30 years, and clarifies its scope; and allows the regulatory body of an electric utility to adopt regulations to implement these requirements and recover costs from large energy use facilities. This Amendment also clarifies that nothing in the Act precludes an electric distribution company from imposing additional requirements on a large energy use facility.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Heffernan

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1

HOUSE BILL NO. 445

AMEND House Bill No. 445 by deleting lines 5 through 7 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“

(2)a. “Large energy use facility” means a facility that does any of the following:

1. Uses or is projected to use a monthly maximum demand of 50 megawatts or greater at a load factor of 85% or greater.

2. Uses a monthly maximum instantaneous demand of 100 megawatts or greater.

3. Uses or is able to use a monthly maximum demand of 30 megawatts or greater and is primarily engaged in providing a service described under code 518210 of the 2022 North American Industry Classification System.

b. Multiple facilities may be aggregated and treated as a large energy use facility for the purposes of this definition based on close physical proximity, common ownership or control, or ownership or control through an affiliated company, sharing of local electrical infrastructure, and reliability risks to the electric system because of their size, proximity, and operational characteristics.

”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 on line 13 by deleting “

public electric grid,

” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “

electric distribution and transmission system,

”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 by deleting lines 21 through 30 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“

(a)(1) Large energy use facilities may not operate in the State unless the facility produces sufficient power in the state or procures sufficient generation to support its operations, subject to subsection (b) of this section.

(2) Procured generation must be from a facility or facilities interconnected in the State or within PJM’s DPL transmission zone or within a transmission zone contiguous by land to the DPL transmission zone, with sufficient existing transmission infrastructure to deliver this additional electricity to Delaware, and which has not been already committed in a prior PJM capacity auction. This may include newly constructed generation at an existing facility, uprates, or repowering of deactivated or retired generating units as of June 12, 2026; provided that capacity that previously participated in the PJM Base Residual Auction shall qualify only to the extent attributable to such uprate or repowering.

(3) All power generated in the State must meet the renewable energy portfolio standards established under Subchapter III-A of Chapter 1 of Title 26, except that a facility may use a combination of 1 or more of the following forms of acceptable clean energy technology to meet the percentage thresholds established therein:

a. Generation eligible for compliance with the renewable energy portfolio standards or any successor clean energy standards and interconnecting in Delaware.

b. Nuclear power.

c. Energy storage interconnecting in Delaware and used for the primary purpose of storing energy generated from resources outlined in this subsection and subsection (b) of this section.

(4) Compliance with this subsection may be achieved through any combination of procurement of renewable or clean energy resources, onsite or directly interconnected generation, power purchase agreements, or other Commission-approved mechanisms.

(5) A single-cycle or open-cycle power generation facility is not an acceptable clean energy generation technology for purposes of this subsection.

(b) A large energy use facility that does not meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this section must submit for approval by the electric utility’s regulatory body a plan to increase the facility’s energy production in the State or procurement from a facility or facilities interconnected in the State or within PJM’s DPL transmission zone or within a transmission zone contiguous by land to the DPL transmission zone so that the large energy use facility is producing or procuring 100% of its annual energy needs within 10 years of commencing operations.

”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 on line 30 after “

operations.

” as it appears therein by inserting “

Large energy use facilities choosing this option are curtailable for price cost impact thresholds determined by the Commission and reliability events determined by PJM Interconnection or Delmarva Power and must participate in PJM demand response programs. Large energy use facilities utilizing this option that continue to operate during curtailment periods must use back-up generation systems including at least 50% power met by battery storage or clean energy technology.

”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 on line 31 by deleting “

(1)

” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “

(c)

”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 by deleting lines 33 through 41 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“

(d) A large energy use facility may not connect to the electric distribution and transmission system until all of the following criteria are met:

(1) At least 25% of its required energy generation consistent with subsection (a) of this section is energized and interconnected.

(2) At least 25% of back-up power comes from clean energy technology and is energized and interconnected.

(3) The large energy facility has entered a 15-year binding contract with the Public Service Commission that contains, at a minimum, a guaranteed insurance bond that pays into the General Fund if the large energy use facility fails to meet its obligation to produce or procure the required amount of clean energy in the State in any year; attempts to terminate the contract; files for bankruptcy, insolvency, restructuring, or any similar undertaking; or violates any provision of this section. This is in addition to any other enforcement authority of the Commission.

”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 on line 42 by deleting “

(c)

” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “

(e)

”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 on line 44 by deleting “

Public Service Commission, which

” and inserting in lieu thereof “

electric utility’s regulatory body, which at a minimum

”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 on line 45 by deleting “

the energy or creating the infrastructure that the facility failed to produce or create.

” as it appears therein and inserting in lieu thereof “

or procuring the energy or building or procuring the infrastructure that the facility failed to produce or procure.

”

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 by deleting lines 46 through 49 in their entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

“

(f) Any costs incurred by the electric utility’s regulatory body to make determinations or manage the requirements of this section with respect to a large energy use facility may also be recovered from the large energy use facility.

(g) The regulatory body of an electric utility is authorized to promulgate regulations to fully define the requirements necessary for the implementation of this section.

”.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 445 by inserting the following after line 49:

Section 4. Nothing in this Act precludes an electric distribution company from imposing additional requirements on a large energy use facility.

SYNOPSIS

This Amendment to House Bill No. 445 updates the Act to incorporate a standardized definition of what constitutes a large energy use facility; allows the procurement of new power generation, in addition to building new power generation; expands the location of acceptable energy generation to include PJM transmission zones contiguous by land with the DPL zone with sufficient transmission resources, thereby allowing generation like expansions of the Salem nuclear generation facility or other nearby generation to comply; clarifies the definition of new generation to ensure new large energy use facilities are bringing truly new or expanded generation; clarifies the types of generation resources that are eligible as clean energy generation; excludes single-cycle or open cycle generation as acceptable forms of generation; specifies that large energy use facilities that rely on a 10-year plan to meet compliance may be curtailable and must meet a minimum component of clean or storage as backup forms of generation if they continue to operate; makes the required contract with the Public Service Commission 15 years, instead of 30 years, and clarifies its scope; and allows the regulatory body of an electric utility to adopt regulations to implement these requirements and recover costs from large energy use facilities. This Amendment also clarifies that nothing in the Act precludes an electric distribution company from imposing additional requirements on a large energy use facility.