The DNREC State Energy Office (SEO) has contracted with Siemens Energy to conduct an analysis of the challenges and opportunities for hardening, modernizing and improving the resilience of the state’s electricity grid.

The Grid Study is designed to satisfy the State’s matching contribution required by the grant issued by the United States Department of Energy under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law section 40101(d) and to satisfy the requirements of House Joint Resolution 3 on Grid Enhancing Technologies.

The joint resolution, signed by Governor Meyer on July 16, 2025, requires that “no later than December 31, 2025, the DNREC SEO and DESEU shall submit a preliminary progress report detailing the initial findings from the analysis of grid-enhancing technologies across all electric utilities in Delaware, and a final report must be submitted by July 31, 2026, to: the Governor and all members of the General Assembly, with copies to the Director and the Librarian of the Division of Research of Legislative Council, and the Delaware Public Archives.”

For more information, please contact B. Scott Hunter, at benjamin.hunter@delaware.gov or 302-672-1158.

The Analysis Study

On September 8, 2025, DNREC executed a contract with Siemens Energy (Siemens) to conduct an Analysis of Delaware’s Electricity Distribution Grids to satisfy the requirements of HJR3 and to satisfy the State’s matching contribution required by the grant issued by United States Department of Energy pursuant to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law section 40101(d). Energy providers are eligible to apply for pass-through grants in the 40101(d) program for projects designed to prevent outages and enhance the resilience of the grid.

Project kick-off meetings with the State’s three electric distribution companies (EDCs) were held on Nov. 5 and 6, 2026. Siemens Energy and DNREC State Energy Office staff presented an overview of the project to the Governor’s Energy Advisory Council (GEAC) on Nov. 14. Advisory Council members were surveyed about their view of priorities for modernizing and hardening Delaware’s transmission and distribution grid.

The results of the survey, combined with the input and data collected from EDCs and other sources, were used to produce a Baseline Conditions Assessment of Delaware’s grid.

The following highlights were underscored in the Preliminary Progress Report:

• Electricity demand growth is expected to accelerate due to new large loads and electrification. 
• All utilities are advancing grid-enhancing technologies and modernizing infrastructure. 
• Reliability is improving while Demand Response, Energy Efficiency, and Distributed Energy Resources play growing roles. 
• Data gaps prevent detailed modeling, limiting estimation precision of costs and benefits of grid enhancing technologies and requiring a higher-level approach. 

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