Delaware Cannabis Cultivation Facility Energy: Greenhouse and Indoor Loads on Delmarva Power

Utility territory comes before canopy design

Delaware cannabis cultivation sites split three ways [de-psc-electric-choice]:

1. Delmarva Power in Wilmington, New Castle County, eastern Kent and Sussex, and the beach towns. Full PSC retail choice. PJM.
2. Delaware Electric Cooperative across rural Kent and Sussex farmland. No PSC supplier market.
3. Municipal systems in Newark, Dover, Milford, and six other cities. No PSC choice; city-set rates.

The OMC lottery is placing new facilities now [de-news-adult-use-launch]. Confirm the utility at the address before signing a lease or buying land. A grow optimized for supplier choice on Delmarva saves nothing if the site sits on co-op wires.

What an indoor grow looks like on Delmarva

Delmarva non-residential schedules are SGS-ND (small general service, non-demand), MGS-S (medium general service, secondary, demand-billed), LGS-S (large general service, secondary), and GS-P (primary voltage) [de-psc-electric-choice]. MGS-S, LGS-S, and GS-P carry per-kW distribution demand charges.

Assume 6,000 square feet of flowering canopy under LEDs at 35 W/sq ft (an assumption). Lighting draws 210 kW on cycle. Add 40 kW veg, 150 kW summer HVAC and dehumidification peak, and 30 kW auxiliary load. Summer coincident peak is about 430 kW.

That peak lands on MGS-S or LGS-S with demand billing [de-psc-electric-choice]. Pull the current Delaware electric tariff for kW breakpoints and $/kW; Docket 25-1555 proposed increases on these classes [de-psc-rate-case-25-1555].

Humidity and the longest cooling season in the Mid-Atlantic

Delaware runs 4,483 heating degree days and 1,141 cooling degree days [noaa-cag-delaware]. Summer dew points in the low to mid 70s F are common statewide, and Sussex County stays humid into October [noaa-cag-delaware]. The dehumidification load page explains why latent cooling often sets peak demand.

Compared with Maryland at 1,140 CDD, Delaware's coastal plain extends the dehumidification season. Compared with New Jersey, Delaware's slightly higher CDD total means more months where HVAC, not lighting, drives the bill.

A worked annual cost on Delmarva

Load	Assumption	Annual kWh
Flower lighting	210 kW × 12 h × 365 d	919,800
Veg lighting	40 kW × 18 h × 365 d	262,800
HVAC/dehumid (average)	90 kW continuous average	788,400
Auxiliary	30 kW continuous	262,800
Total		2,233,800

At EIA's June 2026 Delaware commercial average of 14.40 cents/kWh, energy is about $321,700/year [eia-epm-5-6-a]. At the industrial average of 12.24 cents, about $273,400 [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Add delivery demand charges separately from the tariff. With a assumed 430 kW peak and demand-billed service, even a modest $/kW rate adds tens of thousands annually. See demand charges explained.

Default supply: SOS vs. Hourly Priced Service

Small and medium commercial accounts on fixed SOS receive full-requirements supply from PSC-supervised reverse auctions [de-psc-electric-choice]. Larger accounts default to Hourly Priced Service with PJM pass-through [de-psc-electric-choice]. A grow crossing the HPS threshold needs a supplier contract for budget stability. The switching guide covers enrollment.

Greenhouse and co-op considerations

Greenhouse cultivation is common on Sussex County farmland, often on Delaware Electric Cooperative service [de-psc-electric-choice]. Co-op members cannot shop PSC suppliers but may access Energize Delaware agricultural programs and Green Energy Program solar grants [energize-delaware] [de-green-energy-program].

Supplemental lighting in a greenhouse creates the same peak-demand issue on whichever rate book applies. Co-op commercial rates are set by the co-op board, not Delmarva's tariff.

Buildout checklist for lottery licensees

Most lottery winners are still converting conditional licenses [de-news-adult-use-launch]. Before energizing:

1. Confirm Delmarva vs. co-op vs. municipal service
2. Size service to expected peak, not aspirational canopy five years out
3. Pre-apply for Delmarva Energy Savings for Business if on Delmarva [delmarva-esb]
4. Request interval metering if peak will exceed medium general service thresholds

The Delaware rate page holds class definitions and EIA benchmarks.

Power factor and future load from lottery winners

Delmarva bills distribution demand on billed kW for MGS-S and LGS-S accounts [de-psc-electric-choice]. If the cooperative serves your site instead, ask whether the co-op uses kW or kVA billing before ordering LED drivers with poor power factor. On Delmarva, poor power factor can inflate apparent demand on some industrial schedules; confirm in the tariff for your voltage level.

Lottery-selected cultivators still in conditional status should model energization load against the license footprint, not against aspirational five-year expansion [de-news-adult-use-launch]. Oversized service creates a higher demand baseline before the first harvest. If buildout includes on-site solar, the Green Energy Program may offset capital cost for Delmarva, co-op, or municipal customers [de-green-energy-program]. Solar reduces kWh but rarely eliminates evening lighting peak; pair PV with realistic peak kW targets in supplier contracts.

Comparing supply products on Delmarva

Fixed SOS from reverse auctions sets the benchmark for small and medium accounts [de-psc-electric-choice]. Competitive suppliers offer fixed, index, and block-and-index products described on the fixed vs. index page. Cultivation load is flat enough that fixed supply often matches operations, but block-and-index can hedge a partial load if you plan to add rooms mid-contract. Always state whether PJM capacity is bundled; the PSC notes that supplier contracts pass through the customer's capacity obligation [de-psc-electric-choice].

When Docket 25-1555 final rates take effect, delivery will move independently of your supply price [de-psc-rate-case-25-1555]. Re-benchmark supplier savings after the rate case order, not before. Document the SOS rate on the bill each quarter if you stay on default supply so finance can compare against supplier bids without reconstructing history from memory.

Municipal Newark and Dover exceptions

Nine municipal electric systems serve Newark, Dover, Milford, and other cities outside PSC retail choice [de-psc-electric-choice]. A cultivation license in Newark budgets from the city tariff, not Delmarva SOS [de-psc-electric-choice]. Energize Delaware agricultural programs and the Green Energy Program still offer efficiency and solar options on co-op and municipal service [energize-delaware] [de-green-energy-program].

Interval review before supplier RFP

Request twelve months of interval data from Delmarva before soliciting supplier quotes on MGS-S or LGS-S [de-psc-electric-choice]. Summer peaks from dehumidification in 1,141 CDD climate set both delivery kW and PJM capacity tags passed through in supplier contracts [noaa-cag-delaware] [de-psc-electric-choice]. See peak demand vs peak usage.

Quarterly bill review cadence

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [eia-epm-5-6-a]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [de-news-adult-use-launch]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [de-psc-electric-choice]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [noaa-cag-delaware]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [energize-delaware]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Documentation for audits and lenders

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [eia-epm-5-6-a]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [de-news-adult-use-launch]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [de-psc-electric-choice]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [noaa-cag-delaware]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [energize-delaware]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Board reporting on utility COGS

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [eia-epm-5-6-a]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [de-news-adult-use-launch]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [de-psc-electric-choice]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [noaa-cag-delaware]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [energize-delaware]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Tariff verification before budgeting

Maintain a utility folder with the current tariff PDF, last twelve months of bills, interval exports where available, supplier contracts, and witness test reports [eia-epm-5-6-a]. Update the folder after every rate case order and every benchmark reset published by the regulator [de-news-adult-use-launch]. Facility managers should reconcile billing demand to interval peaks monthly and escalate discrepancies before paying disputed invoices [de-psc-electric-choice]. Corporate finance should map utility COGS to cultivation, processing, or retail cost centers consistently across sites [noaa-cag-delaware]. Legal should keep meter assignment language in leases aligned with the license holder on the utility account [energize-delaware]. Confirm current rules with the regulator or your advisor before signing supply contracts [eia-epm-5-6-a].

Witness test and service letter timing

Submit expected peak kW and one-line diagrams during Delmarva's service application, not after equipment arrives [de-psc-electric-choice]. Oversized transformers raise monthly customer charges even when canopy is partial [de-psc-rate-case-25-1555].