Rates for both electricity and gas service have increased significantly for the majority of Delmarva Power and Light (DP) Company, which is the primary electric service corporation on the Lower Shore. The rates – both supply and delivery charges – were approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission last year to go into effect beginning with service December through March. And, another rate increase is expected to take place for summer rates, which begin in June.
But beyond the 9-10% increase in the actual rate charged, many DP customers, both in Maryland and Delaware, saw their bills jump 100-300% of what they paid last winter for the same time period. (Comparison of bills from November are not relevant here, but will be discussed later). A group of concerned customers formed on Facebook under the name Delmarva Power Victims, which includes both Delaware and Maryland residents. And, in the course of sharing and comparing bills and circumstances (home size, area living in, type of systems used), several issues have become clear as to who is suffering the most, and possibly why.
Smart Meters Malfunctioning?
The biggest issues seems to be whether the primary meter for a residence is actually functioning appropriately. Many people contacted DP’s Customer Service department after realizing that the number of kilowatt hours (kWh) they were charged was twice (or more) than they were in the same period in 2024. Most received a standard scripted response that the weather conditions were to blame, but that isn’t consistent with neighbors who haven’t seen their total kWh increase more than 10% from last year. Some customers were also told that DP had ‘pinged’ their meter (meaning, they sent a signal to check if it was working), and that from the DP office, it appeared that the meter was working appropriately. But many of the people who were told that also report that their meter is not readable: the screen displaying data is either blank or unreadable (often reads “XXXXXX”).
If your habits or systems have not changed significantly in the last 12-24 months and you find that you are being charged for two or three times the number of kWh you were in 2024, for the same period, you can request a meter check through DP. You may also want to request a ‘refereed test’ through the Maryland Public Service Commission to further confront the issue of the possibly that the meter is malfunctioning. This requires completing a form, including a $10 fee and sending the form to the PSC. Anyone who submits a request should remain in contact with the Engineer’s office at the PSC to ensure the test is conducted promptly.
This issue is the one that most DP customers have in common. But it may not be the only issue that needs to be addressed by consumers. If your heating system includes and ’emergency’ heat element, it is likely that it comes on automatically when temperatures fall below freezing (32 F or 0 C). This emergency heat source can double or triple the amount of energy used, if the temperatures remain low for several days. In some newer homes and units, this emergency setting can be disabled, but in older less efficient homes, and particularly those that rely on baseboard electric heating, it may not be. DP does offer energy assessments to customers that are paid for through the EmPOWER MD program.
Once a customer contacts Delmarva Power with an issue, if it is not resolves satisfactorily, there is also a complaint process through the PSC. Once filed, service cannot be cut off to the residence until it has been resolved through both DP and the PSC.
Former Deputy Attorney General Thiru Vignarajah has also offered to help DP customers who are concerned that DP’s business practices may be inflating their energy usage. He has spoken with hundreds of the Delmarva Power Victims group members about his experience dealing with consumer energy-related practices (through another Exelon Corp. subsidiary BGE which supplies both gas and electric service in the Baltimore area). He is currently setting up a system to assist consumers with ensuring that DP’s business practices are fully examined and any malpractices are exposed and litigated, if necessary. If you are interested in learning more, you can contact his office via email at: vignarajah.thiru@gmail.com
Why Comparing November’s bill with December or January isn’t a Good Argument for increases in cost
If your DP bill for November began before the 15th, it’s likely your December bill will be substantially higher – possibly twice what it was the month before, simply because the temperatures were significantly higher. As an example, for a bill period November 2 – December 2, 2024 our 1,750 sq. ft. apartment (which is not very efficient) used 1,034 kWh. The average temperature for the entire billing period was 50F. For the following period, December 3, 2024 to January 3 we were billed for 1,703 kWh (almost a 65% increase). The average temperature for that billing period was 41F.
In order to compare bills and costs effectively, most factors affecting increases (or decrease) need to be controlled in some way: outside temperature is possibly the most significant one.
One way to normalize costs and figure out the overall cost per kWh each month is to take the Total Billed amount (just for 1 month, not including prior balances or fees charged) and divide it by the total kWh charged. For the winter months, this should be in the $.21/kWh range.
Next up: Are you reading your bill accurately?
The Lower Shore Observer 