Corporate Information

Overview

Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation, Inc. (DEMEC) is a public corporation constituted as a Joint Action Agency and a wholesale electric utility. DEMEC represents municipal electric distribution utilities located in the state of Delaware. The creation of DEMEC was made possible by an act of the Delaware General Assembly on June 6, 1978, and the entity was incorporated on July 12, 1979.

DEMEC members include: Newark, New Castle, Middletown, Smyrna, Clayton, Milford, Seaford, and Lewes. All of DEMEC’s member communities have owned and operated their local electric utilities for nearly 100 years or more!

DEMEC maintains a strong balance sheet and efficient, well-managed business operations. Moody’s Investors Services, S&P Global Ratings, and Fitch Ratings have assigned ratings of “A1”, “A”, and “A”, respectively, to DEMEC.

To align and adapt to the regulatory and market environment in which it operates, DEMEC has made a strategic shift of its supply resource mix. Regulatory policy changes have put some fuel types at greater risk than others and incentivized investment in renewable resources. Electric market structures operated by the PJM Regional Transmission Organization necessitate the continued development of a diversified resource mix to capture the benefits and manage the risks of these markets. Since the early 2000’s, DEMEC has moved away from a high reliance on market-based supply contracts in favor of a diverse set of self-supply resources. In 2020, DEMEC invested $90 million to enhance and support reliable electric service in member communities.

In 2002, DEMEC commissioned the first unit of a state-of-the-art natural gas generation plant in Smyrna. The second unit followed in 2012, providing Delaware with an even more powerful, black start capable generation facility. DEMEC invested $58 million to supply 100MW of capacity, energy, and reliability to Delaware. The plant is jointly owned by seven of DEMEC’s members.

DEMEC is governed by an eight-member Board of Directors, with one director from each of the member municipal electric utilities. The responsibility for day-to-day operations of the Agency resides with a President appointed by the Board. The President directs the efforts of the staff members and various contractual relationships in place to meet the service requirements of the members.