In Delaware, difficulty is transferring power, officials say

By Christopher Thorne, Associated Press

DOVER - Unlike sprawling California on the West Coast, compact Delaware has abundant power at relatively cheap rates, utility regulators and power companies say.

However, regulators are concerned whether the state's major power supplier - Wilmington-headquartered Conectiv - has an adequate system to carry the power to where it is needed.

Two years ago, the state saw rolling blackouts during a record Fourth of July heat wave as thousands of homes switched on air conditioners. Demand for power peaked far beyond what Conectiv engineers had predicted, forcing them to temporarily shut power off to some in order to keep the company's entire grid from collapsing.

On July 6 alone, at the peak of demand for power, Conectiv intentionally switched off electricity to 135,776 customers on the Delmarva peninsula.

Since then, Conectiv has invested $130 million to upgrade poles, lines and other equipment, much of that in southern Delaware. The blackouts, however, prompted a lengthy investigation by the Public Service Commission, which last May issued a report critical of Conectiv's transmission system.

"We've been keeping an eye on what's happening in California, and I don't think we're going to see the same problems here," said Bruce Burcat, executive director of the Public Service Commission.

"What we do have concerns about is the reliability of the Conectiv transmission system," Mr. Burcat said.

Analysts are preparing a paper to present later this month to the Public Service Commission which will recommend the state take greater responsibility in overseeing the reliability of transmission systems.

Delaware has already undertaken the first steps toward deregulating its electricity market under guidelines adopted by the General Assembly and signed into law by then-Gov. Thomas R. Carper two years ago.

Under the law, Conectiv customers have a fixed price for power until Oct. 1, 2003. Their power bills can only go up or down according to their own use - and not the cost of the power to the utility. Conectiv, however, can appeal to state regulators if energy prices spike in order to avoid financial problems.

In hearings last year, utility executives were critical of the PSC's position that it should further regulate the sale of power to consumers even as the market is deregulated.

Conectiv buys its power through PJM Interconnection, a company based in Valley Forge, Pa., that oversees a regional market of power suppliers and generators networked across the northeast United States.

PJM has guidelines to ensure the reliability of its utility members, and Conectiv has met all those guidelines, PJM executives said.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 10, 2001