26 Del. C. § 716: Legislative findings and purpose [Expires Dec. 31, 2035, pursuant to 85 Del. Laws, c. 363, § 2].

(a) The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:

(1) Recent reports by PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (PJM), have highlighted that electricity demand across the PJM footprint, including Delaware, is projected to grow due to data centers, electrification of vehicles and buildings, and other large load additions. PJM recently projected that by 2030, PJM expects to add 32 GW of load to the grid, 30 GW of which is attributable to data centers.

(2) PJM relies upon load forecasts submitted by electric distribution companies in Delaware to establish system planning needs and capacity requirements which ultimately have costs associated with both.

(3) Accurate load forecasting is essential to ensure the adequacy of electric supply, maintain system reliability, and protect Delaware consumers from unnecessary costs caused by overbuilding or underbuilding system resources.

(4) Currently, the process by which utilities and load-serving entities submit information to PJM is very opaque, requires revision to ensure confidence and transparency so that policymakers, regulators, and stakeholders can rely upon the results.

(5) There is a critical need for the Delaware Public Service Commission (Commission) to provide oversight of load forecasting inputs from Commission-regulated electric distribution companies, to ensure accuracy and transparency, and to coordinate with PJM and neighboring state regulators to prevent duplicative counting of projects and customer contracts.

(b) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide the Commission with authority and responsibility to:

(1) Review and evaluate load forecasts submitted by Commission-regulated electric distribution companies to PJM.

(2) Coordinate with PJM and other states to support system-wide planning.

(3) Access all relevant materials, including confidential agreements, necessary to review and evaluate load forecasts.