Delmarva Power & Light Company asked the Public Service Commission to waive the Dec. 31, 2025, expiration date for its rate-year 3 distribution rates approved in the company’s multi-year rate plan (case 9681) and allow those rates to remain in effect until it files a future base rate case.

Drew McAuliffe presented staff’s recommendation that the commission accept Delmarva’s proposed tariffs and waive the two requirements that would otherwise require Delmarva to file a traditional base-rate case 210 days before the end of the MRP. McAuliffe said waiving the expiration would allow Delmarva and stakeholders time to incorporate potential improvements from the commission’s “lessons learned” proceeding on multi-year rate plans and would avoid a likely near-term rate increase for customers.

Michael San Martino, representing the Office of People’s Counsel (OPC), opposed an open-ended waiver. OPC argued that MRP-set rates depend on reconciliation opportunities and that allowing an indefinite continuation of a rate set from a forecasted MRP could deprive customers of consumer-protection mechanisms. OPC suggested either denying the waiver or granting a time-limited extension with a one-way reconciliation or other guardrails; OPC also noted Delmarva’s first-rate-year overrecovery under its MRP as a reason for caution.

Counsel for Delmarva, Kim Curry, said the commission previously granted similar relief for Pepco in case 9702 and stressed that precedent and the commission’s existing complaint and monitoring processes (including quarterly earned-return reports) would allow stakeholders and staff to detect and address significant over-earnings. Delmarva’s vice president for regulatory affairs also suggested using earned-return reports as a monitoring measure and said the company could accept a short, defined extension if the commission preferred.

Commissioners pressed staff, OPC and the company on how any extension would be monitored and whether to build a time limit or a one-way reconciliation into any waiver. Staff and Delmarva said earned-return reports would be the practicable monitoring tool in the absence of a forecast/budget to reconcile against. Commissioners suggested options including a six-month or one-year time-limited waiver coupled with monitoring; others said that without a clear reconciliation mechanism the commission should be cautious. After extended discussion the commission took Delmarva’s waiver request under advisement for further consideration; no final decision or vote was recorded at the meeting.