The Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (DEMEC) is a Joint Action Agency and wholesale

electric utility An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major pr ...

that represents nine municipal electric departments in the state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The agency, which was created in 1979, is headquartered in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

About

DEMEC is Joint Action Agency and wholesale

that represents nine municipal electric departments in the state of

in the

, which consists of all the major cities and towns in Delaware except Wilmington. The agency's members combined provide electricity to over 125,000 customers and have a peak load of over 460 MW. DEMEC serves as the generation owner and

PJM Interconnection PJM Interconnection LLC (PJM) is a regional transmission organization (RTO) in the United States. It is part of the Eastern Interconnection grid operating an electric transmission system serving all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kent ...

load serving entity Load serving entity (LSE) in a deregulated electricity market is a company or government agency that is obligated by law or via a long-term contract to provide electrical power to end-users. The term is used in regulation, yet is vague and thus sub ...

for eight of the municipal electric departments (the exception being

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

), providing all of the wholesale electric supply to these communities, while DEMEC provides partial wholesale electric supply to Dover. The agency also provides legal and technical consulting service to its nine members and represents them at the federal and regional level. DEMEC is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors which consists of one director from each electric department. The Board of Directors appoints a President and CEO who is in charge of the daily operations of the agency. DEMEC owns a generation plant in

that consists of two 50 MW units, supplying electricity to seven of its member utilities. The agency purchases

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

from the Dover SUN Park in Dover, which is owned by

SunPower SunPower is an American provider of photovoltaic solar energy generation systems and battery energy storage products, primarily for residential customers. The company, headquartered in San Jose, California, was founded in 1985 by Richard Swa ...

and supplies electricity to the city of Dover, and the Milford Solar Farm in

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

, which is owned by the

Public Service Enterprise Group The Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey and was established in 1985 with a legacy dating back to 1903. The company's largest subsidiary is ...

. Solar power is also produced from smaller facilities in DEMEC's member utilities' communities. DEMEC purchases

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

from the Laurel Hill Wind Farm in

Lycoming County, Pennsylvania Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat is Williamsport. Lycoming County comprises the Williamsport metropolitan statistical area. About northwest ...

and from a 2 MW turbine at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

's Hugh R. Sharp Campus in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

Members

DEMEC's membership is composed of nine municipal electric departments in Delaware: * City of Dover Electric Department * City of Milford Electric Department * City of Newark Electric Department * City of Seaford Electric Department * Lewes Board of Public Works * Municipal Services Commission of the City of New Castle * Town of Clayton Electric Department * Town of Middletown Electric Department * Town of Smyrna Electric Department

History

DEMEC was created by an act of the

Delaware General Assembly The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 representatives. It meets at Legisla ...

on June 6, 1978 and was incorporated on July 12, 1979. In 2002, DEMEC constructed a 50 MW generation plant in Smyrna at a cost of $35 million. A second 50 MW unit was added at this plant in June 2012.

References

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External links

Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation
Companies based in Kent County, Delaware Energy companies established in 1979 Electric power companies of the United States 1979 establishments in Delaware