CELEBRATING DEMEC DAY AND RECOGNIZING THE DELAWARE MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC CORPORATION AND THE COMMUNITY-OWNED NOT FOR PROFIT ELECTRIC UTILITIES THROUGHOUT DELAWARE.

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Gorman & Sen. Hansen

Rep. Bolden

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 108

CELEBRATING DEMEC DAY AND RECOGNIZING THE DELAWARE MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC CORPORATION AND THE COMMUNITY-OWNED NOT FOR PROFIT ELECTRIC UTILITIES THROUGHOUT DELAWARE.

WHEREAS, DEMEC Day is celebrated to recognize the value of public power and advancements made

by Delaware’s not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities to benefit their residential and business customers; and

WHEREAS,

nine

cities

and

towns throughout Delaware

(New

Castle, Newark, Middletown, Smyrna, Clayton, Dover, Milford, Seaford,

and

Lewes), in partnership with DEMEC,

are

engaged

in

supplying

reliable and environmentally responsible

electric

service

,

most of them serving their respective communities for over 100 years; and

WHEREAS,

in

1978,

the

Delaware General Assembly enacted

legislation

authorizing

Delaware’s public

power

communities

to form

a

joint

action agency

to

act

as a

wholesale

electric provider for

their

collective

benefit as a political subdivision of the state;

and

WHEREAS,

in

1979, the

Delaware

Municipal

Electric

Corporation

(“DEMEC”)

was incorporated as a not-for-

profit extension of the member communities it serves; and

WHEREAS, public power is built on local decision-making, with customers having a direct say in

utility operations

and policies as owners of their community electric utility; and

WHEREAS, DEMEC members provide homes, businesses, farms, social service buildings, government agencies,

and emergency services with nationally recognized, reliable power; and

WHEREAS, DEMEC and its members are valuable community assets that contribute to the quality of life for

residents and businesses through aggregated energy savings programs, local customer service, reduced carbon emissions,

economic development, and other community projects; and

WHEREAS, DEMEC’s mission is to deliver excellence in competitive, reliable, sustainable power supply and

innovative services to advance the benefits of community-owned utilities; and

WHEREAS, DEMEC has been at the forefront of renewable energy in Delaware, installing over 28.7 megawatts (MW) of in-state solar generation through community-supported solar facilities in New Castle, Newark, Smyrna, Clayton, Dover, Milford and Seaford, with an additional 3 MW of floating solar being constructed in Middletown; and

WHEREAS, DEMEC’s

power supply mix and

renewable

energy

credits include wind energy from

the 69 MW Laurel Hill Wind Farm and the 2 MW wind

turbine

at

the

University

of

Delaware

Lewes campus, a partnership that funds Graduate and Doctoral Fellowships for Wind Energy Research at UD; and

WHEREAS, since 2018

, DEMEC’s Energy Efficiency Program has produced measured and verified projects with customer savings of $45.7 million and 354,528 MWh over the project’s lifetime, equal to 49, 638 homes’ electric use for one year or 71 wind turbines running for a year; and

WHEREAS, DEMEC

has

reduced its carbon footprint by over 50% since 2005, providing its member communities with energy that is over 90% low to no emissions.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of

the

153

rd

General

Assembly,

the

Senate

concurring

therein,

recognizes the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation and community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities throughout Delaware for their dedication to serving their communities with programs that save energy and money, as well as renewable projects that lower emissions to benefit the environment.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in

honor

of DEMEC’s upcoming 47

th

anniversary and over 100 years of reliable and safe electric service from Delaware’s local

public

power utilities,

that March 25, 2026

,

is

hereby

proclaimed as DEMEC Day.

SYNOPSIS

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation and community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities throughout Delaware for their dedication to serving communities with programs that save energy and money, as well as renewable projects that lower emissions to benefit the environment. This Resolution also celebrates DEMEC’s upcoming 47th anniversary and over 100 years of reliable and safe electric service from Delaware’s local public power utilities by proclaiming March 25, 2026, as DEMEC Day.