Customers of Delmarva Power, including those in Harford and Cecil counties, could see an increase in their electric delivery rates sometime next year.
Part of the increase will be used to cover the cost of repairing power lines and restoring service during Tropical Storm Irene in late August, a spokesperson for the company said.
According to a Dec. 9 press release, Delmarva is asking the Maryland Public Service Commission to OK an increase rates for its electric delivery service. If the increase is approved, the release went on, this would result in a 5.6 percent increase for all customers, or $7.29 per month for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours every month.
There are roughly 6,000 Delmarva customers in Harford County, including in Dublin, Street, Whiteford and Pylesville, and more than 40,000 in Cecil County, Bridget Shelton, Delmarva spokeswoman for Harford and Cecil counties, said.
As Shelton explained, Delmarva has to go through a regulatory proceeding with the Public Service Commission to get permission for the rate increase.
"We can't willy-nilly increase prices," she said. "It has to be requested and be approved."
The commission then determines if the increase is warranted. Occasionally, Shelton went on, the commission "settles" on a lower increase if the percentage originally requested isn't approved.
"Every year we're investing hundreds of millions of dollars in our electrical distribution system," Shelton explained. "Whether it's replacing worn equipment or building new equipment, it [the increase] is just a reflection [of] the investments we made to have a more reliable, safer electrical system serving our Maryland customers."
For this particular request, Delmarva is "asking to recover some of the costs associated with Hurricane Irene," she said. During the August storm, thousands of customers were without power for long periods of time, and the power company required additional resources to restore service.
The commission's decision on the rate increase could take upward of seven months, Shelton said. Whether the percentage is approved or settled upon, customers will be notified in a bill insert, as well as a news release.
No other changes are "on the horizon," Shelton added, except for the change in the customer's supply rate, which changes every June as a reflection of where the energy market is at the time.