FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Media Contact:
Jonah Anderson
jonah.anderson@delaware.gov
DOVER, Del. — Governor Meyer announced today that the Division of the Public Advocate has filed a petition with the Delaware Public Service Commission (PSC) asking the PSC to investigate utility return on equity (ROE) — in other words, profit — and explore reforms to how utility profits are determined. This is another step in the Governor’s call to action to protect Delaware ratepayers and hold utility companies accountable.
In June, Governor Meyer called on the Public Advocate to file a petition asking the PSC to act within six months to reset the utility profit model. The petition filed today supports that effort by asking the PSC to examine current ROE and consider whether to adopt an alternate approach, including a competitive mechanism, for determining utility returns.
ROE means profit. As true monopolies, regulated utilities do not have competition and instead are regulated by the PSC. ROE is the return a utility is authorized by the PSC to earn on the equity portion of its investments into capital infrastructure. Instead of earning profit on their sales, utilities earn that rate of return on their assets. ROE is a significant driver of utility rates, accounting for more than 10% of a typical customer’s electric bill. Utility companies are allowed a reasonable return to attract investment and maintain reliable infrastructure, but recent studies support that nationwide utility company ROE may be higher than necessary to attract investment. The current approach allows utilities like Delmarva Power to receive a set return on equity of almost 10%.
“Delaware families and small businesses are not ATMs for Delmarva’s out-of-state shareholders,” said Governor Matt Meyer. “People deserve reliable power at a fair price, not a system that rewards Delmarva for spending more while Delawareans pay more. We need to hold the utility accountable, scrutinize its returns and fix a broken profit model that puts shareholder returns ahead of the people who pay the bills. My administration will keep fighting for a fairer system and lower costs for Delawareans.”
“Unlike businesses that face competition, utilities operate as monopolies and earn a return on equity (profit) on their investments in infrastructure. When that return is too high, customers pay the price through higher bills. It can also encourage utilities to spend more than necessary on infrastructure, with customers also footing the bill,” said Delaware Public Advocate Jameson Tweedie. “We must ensure that Delaware utility customers are not paying excessive profits for the benefit of shareholders and that ROE is consistent with utilities’ actual cost of capital, and not a penny more at customers’ expense.”
The PSC’s investigation will help determine whether reforms like a competitive mechanism for determining ROE are necessary. The petition is part of Governor Meyer’s effort to address affordability by lowering energy and utility costs across Delaware.
The full petition can be found here.
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