Delaware enacts laws to protect ratepayers from data center energy costs

Delaware is implementing new legislative measures to manage rising energy demands and costs. Governor Matt Meyer signed a package of laws designed to prevent hyperscale data centers from shifting their massive electricity and infrastructure upgrade costs onto residential and small business ratepayers. Under the new regulations, Delmarva Power must establish a separate, higher electricity rate for these facilities, which are also now ineligible for certain job-creation tax credits.

These actions come as PJM Interconnection identifies data center growth as a factor in rising electricity bills. Projections suggest that demand from such developments could increase average wholesale electricity prices by more than 80%.

In response to shifting energy needs and the desire for grid resilience, companies like Lumina Solar Delaware are seeing increased demand for integrated solar and battery storage systems. This trend follows a record year for U.S. energy storage installations in 2025, with the residential segment growing 51% as homeowners seek protection against outages and extreme weather.