Senator Stephanie Hanson described Senate Bill 60 as a companion to SB 59. The bill would specify categories of utility spending that are not recoverable in rate cases and, in an amendment discussed at the hearing, set a three‑year capital spending cap for Delmarva Power of $125,000,000 unless ‘‘emergency or extraordinary circumstances’’ apply.

Matt Hartigan, executive director of the Public Service Commission, explained the PSC retains a consultant to review each utility’s annual Infrastructure Safety and Reliability (ISR) plan. That consultant had recommended a cap of $115,000,000 in its most recent review; the amendment raises that figure to $125,000,000 to account for inflation and other factors, Hartigan said. He confirmed the draft language would allow utilities to exceed the cap for declared emergencies.

Several utilities and business groups opposed the cap as written. Marcus Beal of Delmarva Power called the cap ‘‘a threat’’ to timely replacement of aging infrastructure and asked for amendments—indexing to the Consumer Price Index, clarifications on emergency spending and clearer allowed-expenditure language. Tyler Michik and representatives of county and state chambers of commerce said an annual cap could harm the state’s ability to attract energy‑intensive businesses. Delmarva told the committee it serves more than 340,000 electric and 140,000 gas customers in Delaware.

Chesapeake Utilities supported an amendment (Senate Amendment 1) that would bar recovery of lobbying costs but allow utilities to recover the portion of trade‑association dues that is not used for lobbying; the company’s witness said trade groups provide training and other services that benefit ratepayers. Former Public Advocate Drew Slater recounted an earlier cap tied to the PHI/Exelon merger — $225,000,000 over five years — and said that cap produced significant reliability improvements.

Committee members asked detailed questions about what constitutes ‘‘mandatory’’ or ‘‘nonmandatory’’ capital spending, what is included in a utility’s ISR budget, and whether the cap would affect new large customers such as data centers; Hartigan said new-business connections would fall under mandatory spending and would not be constrained by the cap. Witnesses also discussed that Delmarva’s recent annual capital expenditures averaged about $175,000,000, per Hartigan’s testimony, and that Exelon’s corporate objectives to grow rate base have played a role in recent spending patterns.

No committee vote on SB 60 was recorded in the transcript; the committee later moved to a separate bill on PJM transparency.