Energy Costs to Fall For Most Members

Delaware Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors approved a comprehensive rate restructuring plan during a special board meeting on March 20th. Most members will see their electric rates decrease under the restructuring plan, which was approved to ensure fairness for all DEC members. The portion of a member’s bill that accounts for DEC’s cost to purchase and produce power will fall. The portion of a member’s bill that accounts for DEC’s fixed costs to provide basic electric service will increase. These changes were approved by the board because natural gas prices used to generate electricity for our members have decreased, and the cost of materials used to maintain our local grid have increased. The average residential member using 1,000 kWh of electricity per month will see their monthly costs fall by three percent. Residential space heating members, who are being moved into the residential rate class, will see average monthly savings of five percent. These changes will take effect on April 1. The impact will vary across our many rate classes. For detailed information on impacts to all rate classes, please visit delaware.coop. DEC is excited to pass along lower energy costs to most members while other local utilities are proposing significant rate increases. On average, DEC members save more than $500 per year when compared to other electric providers serving southern Delaware.