Telegraph, Telephone and Electric Utility Corporations

Del. Code tit. 26, ch. 9
in effect

Del. Code tit. 26, § 901 Location of lines; eminent domain.

(a) Any telegraph corporation, any telephone corporation or any corporation using lines or wires for the transmitting of electrical current, whether created by prior special act or organized under Chapter 1 of Title 8, may erect, construct and maintain its telegraph or telephone lines or its wires for transmitting electrical current and the necessary fixtures for the same through and across or under any of the canals and canal lands, rivers or other waters and also along any highways within the limits of this State, outside of highways within the limits of and maintained by incorporated cities and towns, subject to the approval or authority of the public authority having charge or control of such highways and also subject to the right of the owners of the fee on such highways and to the owners abutting upon such highways to full compensation to the extent that their property is taken or burdened. (b) Whenever any such corporation cannot agree with any such owner as to purchase or damages, the corporation may proceed for the condemnation of any such franchises, easements, canals, canal lands, rivers or other waters or highways or burdens imposed upon landowners abutting upon any highways whether owners of the fee in the bed of such highways or not in manner prescribed by Chapter 61 of Title 10. (c) All new extensions within a subdivision of electric distribution, telephone, and telegraph lines applied for after July 7, 1970 and necessary to furnish permanent service to new residential buildings in a subdivision having 5 or more building lots or to new multi-occupancy buildings, shall be placed underground, except in situations where the Public Service Commission of Delaware determines that the placing of such utility lines underground is not feasible from an economic, engineering or physical standpoint. Such extension of service shall be made by the utility in accordance with its rules and regulations which must be approved by the Delaware Public Service Commission.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 902 Powers and duties of telegraph and telephone corporations; regulation of use of public roads, streets, etc.

(a) Any telegraph or telephone corporation organized under Chapter 1 of Title 8, in addition to the powers conferred upon corporations generally, may occupy and use the public streets, roads, lanes, alleys, avenues, turnpikes and waterways within this State, or elsewhere, if it extends its lines and business, for the erection of poles and wires or cable or underground conduits, portions of which they may lease, rent or hire to other like companies. (b) Before entering upon any street, road, lane, alley, avenue, turnpike or waterway the consent of the authorities having jurisdiction thereof shall have first been obtained and the same shall be used and occupied under such rules and regulations as are prescribed by such authorities. (c) (1) The portions of the surfaces of the streets, avenues or alleys disturbed in laying the wires, cables or underground conduits shall be immediately restored to their original condition and any pavements which are removed for the purpose of laying or repairing the wires, cables or underground conduits shall be restored to as good condition as they were previous thereto and so maintained for 6 months after the completion of the work. (2) In case of failure on the part of the corporation to so restore and maintain the same, the proper authorities having supervision of the streets, avenues and alleys may properly restore and maintain the same and the cost thereof may be recovered by the city, town or district from the corporation in any court of competent jurisdiction. (d) (1) All posts or poles which are erected by authority conferred by this section shall be so located as in no way to interfere with the safety or convenience of persons traveling on or over the roads and highways. (2) All wires fastened upon posts or poles so erected shall be placed at a height of not less than 18 feet above all road crossings except that the owner of said wires shall be solely responsible for removing them to whatever height necessary to eliminate any visual obstruction or any other interference between said wires and their appurtenances, and any traffic control device. (e) The work shall be done at no cost to the Department of Transportation. (f) That Department shall be the sole judge of the need to move the wires or appurtenances. (g) All wires shall be not less than 23 feet above railroad crossings. (h) No posts or poles shall be erected upon the soil or property of any person without first obtaining the written consent of the owner thereof.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 903 Consolidation of telegraph or telephone corporations.

(a) Any telegraph or telephone corporation of this State, whether created by prior special act or under Chapter 1 of Title 8, may consolidate with any other telegraph or telephone company incorporated under the laws of this State, or any other state, or of the United States, whose telegraph or telephone lines, within or without this State, connect or form continuous lines with the telegraph or telephone lines of the company so consolidated, subject to the provisions of Chapter 1 of this title. Such consolidation shall be made in the manner and by the proceedings prescribed in Chapter 1 of Title 8. (b) The corporation created thereby shall be possessed of, exercise and enjoy all the rights, powers and privileges which Chapter 1 of Title 8 confers upon consolidated companies. It shall likewise be possessed of and exercise and enjoy all the franchises, rights, powers, privileges, immunities and benefits which any corporation of this State, constituent thereof, was possessed of or entitled to exercise under its charter or any law of this State. It shall be subject within this State to the conditions and restrictions imposed by its charter on any corporation of this State, constituent thereof.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 904 Number of telephones on 1 line; penalty.

(a) No person or corporation operating, controlling or owning any telephone lines within this State known as party lines and for which the regular charge for separate telephones is at the rate of $20 or more per year shall have more than 8 telephones upon any 1 line. (b) Whoever violates subsection (a) of this section shall be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100 for each offense.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 905 Placement of telegraph wires.

Telegraph wires shall be attached to the poles at least 12 feet above the ground except where they enter a house. If any agent of a telegraph company having supervision of the line suffers this provision to be violated for 10 days after notice by mail directed to the agent at the post office nearest the agent’s residence, the agent shall forfeit and pay $20 to anyone who will sue for the same.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 906 Powers and duties of electric utility corporations; regulation of use of public roads, streets, etc.

(a) Every corporation organized under Chapter 1 of Title 8 for the purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating works for the supply and distribution of electricity for electric lights, heat or power, in addition to the powers conferred upon corporations generally, may use the public roads, highways, streets, avenues and alleys in this State for the purpose of erecting posts or poles on the same to sustain the necessary wires and fixtures. The consent of the council, town commissioners or other persons having control over the public roads, highways, streets, avenues and alleys of the city, town and district in or upon which the posts or poles are to be erected shall first, and as a condition precedent, be obtained. (b) No posts or poles shall be erected in any street of any city or incorporated town except in those streets which are designated by the authorities thereof and then only in such place and manner as is thus designated, and the same shall be so located as in no way to interfere with the safety or convenience of persons traveling on or over the streets, highways and roads. The use of the public streets in any of the cities and incorporated towns of this State shall be subject to such regulations and taxation as may be first imposed by the corporate authorities of such cities and towns. (c) No posts or poles shall be erected upon the soil or property of any person without first obtaining the consent in writing of the owner of the soil or property. (d) Any wire crossing a railroad shall not be at a less elevation than 23 feet.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 907 Laying pipes, conduits or wires by electric utility corporations.

Every corporation mentioned in § 906 of this title may lay pipes, conduits or wires beneath the public roads, highways, streets, avenues and alleys as it deems necessary. The pipes, conduits and wires shall be laid at least 2 feet below the surface of the same and shall not in any way unnecessarily obstruct or interfere with public travel or damage public or private property. No public streets shall be opened for such purpose without the consent of the counsel of any city, or the town commissioners of any incorporated town, or other persons having control over the public roads, highways, streets, avenues and alleys. Such use of the public streets in any of the cities and towns of this State shall be subject to such regulations, taxation and restrictions as may be first imposed by the corporate authorities of such cities and towns.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 908 Easements for public utilities across railroad property, rights-of-way, or occupations.

Any public utility operating within the State may acquire a utility easement for its public use in accordance with Chapter 61 of Title 10 whenever all the following conditions are met: (1) The property on, over, under, along or across which the public utility easement is to be established: a. Was previously owned by a railroad company, including a successor whose ownership interest derives, directly or indirectly, from the abandonment of the property use by a railroad company, or b. Was subject to an easement, right-of-way or occupation for railroad purposes; and (2) The railroad company’s property interests have been extinguished by abandonment or otherwise; and (3) Immediately prior to the time such railroad company’s property interests were extinguished, a public utility held an easement, license, right-of-way, permission or occupation for public utility purposes that had been obtained from the railroad company; and (4) The public utility and any owner or owners of the property cannot agree as to the terms and conditions of the acquisition by the public utility of a property interest for use for public utility purposes; and (5) The property on which the utility easement to be acquired is not owned by the State or any of its agencies or political subdivisions; and (6) The public utility exercises this authority in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 95 of Title 29.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 909 Special duties of electric utility corporations organized as cooperatives.

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “Cooperative electric utility” shall mean an entity incorporated in the State that is engaged primarily in providing electric service on a cooperative basis. (2) “Member” shall mean any person currently or previously receiving electric service from a cooperative electric utility. (3) “Nonescheat capital credits” means moneys due to any past member of a cooperative electric utility in retirement of capital allocated on a patronage basis to the account of such member for amounts received and receivable by the cooperative from the furnishing of electric energy to such member in excess of operating costs and expenses properly chargeable against the furnishing of electric energy, provided that a 5-year period has elapsed since such credits were retired and the members to which such amounts were allocated have not claimed them. (b) A cooperative electric utility shall use all nonescheat capital credits, net of claims pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, to fund the following as authorized by the Board of Directors: (1) Energy assistance and energy services for low income members. (2) Energy efficiency, renewable energy, battery storage, electrification and emerging energy technology programs in its service area. (3) Donations to such nonprofit charitable and community organizations. (c) Nonescheat capital credits shall be expended within 3 calendar years after being deemed nonescheat capital credits. Nonescheat capital credits not expended within 3 calendar years shall be remitted to the State Escheator in the same manner as all other property subject to Chapter 11 of Title 12. (d) Cooperative electric utilities shall publish an annual report to members no later than January 20 of each year. This report must be published on the cooperative electric utility’s website and must specify the retired capital credits going unclaimed during the previous calendar year. (e) Cooperative electric utilities shall make available the name, last known address and credit amount owed to past members requesting such information. In addition, the utility shall prominently display in all marketing materials directed at current and/or prospective members the name, office address and phone number of the individual or individuals within the corporation responsible for processing past member claims for the return of capital credits. Such information shall also be included in the annual report, the notice of the annual meeting and on any Internet site or sites maintained by the cooperative electric utility. (f) In the event a cooperative electric utility ceases to do business in this State, or elects to recognize as a noncooperative business, all outstanding nonescheat capital credits shall be remitted to the State Escheator in the same manner as all other property subject to Chapter 11 of Title 12. (g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve a cooperative electric utility from refunding nonescheat capital credits on application by past members. Past members of a cooperative electric utility may file a claim for the return of funds deemed nonescheat capital credits, allocated to them at the time they were members. The cooperative electric utility shall provide standard claim forms with which all such members can file for a return of their nonescheat capital credits. No provision of a contract or agreement between the cooperative electric utility and a member or any statute of limitations shall limit the time period in which such a claim may be filed.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 910 Conditional use permit for electrical substations [For application of this section, see 85 Del. Laws, c. 44, § 2].

No county shall deny a conditional use permit to any electrical substation, along with any directly related project infrastructure, proposed to be located on unincorporated land within such county where the following conditions apply: (1) The substation is being proposed to support the operation of a proposed renewable energy generation project of 250 MW or greater; (2) The proposed substation would be located in a heavy industrial zone; (3) An electrical substation is an allowed conditional use within the proposed zone; and (4) The specific zoning district in which the proposed substation would be located already has an electric substation located in such zone with a rating of 230kv or greater as of August 3, 2023.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 920 Definitions.

(a) The term “automatic number identification service” means an access signaling protocol in common use by common carriers that uses an identifying signal associated with the use of a subscriber’s telephone to provide billing information or other information to the local exchange carrier or any other interconnecting carriers. (b) The term “blocking” means a service that allows the originator of a call to prevent or control the transmission of information that identifies the originator to the recipient of the call. (c) The term “caller identification” means the transmission of information that identifies the originator of a communication to the recipient of the communication via an electronic signal which is decoded by a customer provided display unit which displays, records or forwards the caller’s telephone number or other identifying information. Such term shall not include: (1) An internal office system, including but not limited to, a centrex or private branch exchange (PBX) system or virtual private network; (2) An identification system used for emergencies, such as an emergency telephone line used by a public agency or a 911 emergency telephone service; (3) Any identification service provided with legally sanctioned call tracing or tapping procedures; or (4) Any automatic number identification service or technology.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 921 Per line blocking.

Every provider of electronic or wire communication services that provides a caller identification service shall provide blocking on a per line basis without charge at the request of an originator that is a victim of domestic violence protected by a court order, a victim’s service program or a battered women’s shelter or other organization providing safe haven for victims of domestic violence.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 922 Statement of purpose.

The General Assembly finds that competition in the telecommunications industry provides opportunities for initiating the unauthorized switching of a customer’s telephone service provider without the customer’s agreement or authorization, or the addition to a customer’s bill of a product or service not authorized or requested by the customer. It is the purpose of this subchapter to protect telecommunications consumers from unauthorized changes in providers and unauthorized charges, and to protect ethical providers from unfair competition.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 923 Definitions.

As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) “Carrier” shall mean any person or entity offering to the public telecommunications service that originates or terminates within the State; provided, however, that the term “carrier” shall not include: a. Any political subdivision, public or private institution of higher education or municipal corporation of this State or operated by their lessees or operating agents that provides telephone service for the sole use of such political subdivisions, public or private institutions of higher learning or municipal corporations; b. A company that provides telecommunications services solely to itself and its affiliates or members or between points in the same building, or between closely located buildings which are affiliated through substantial common ownership, and does not offer such services to the available general public; c. Providers of domestic public land mobile radio service provided by cellular technology; and d. Payphone service providers. (2) “Change order” shall mean any order changing a customer’s designated carrier for local exchange service, intraLATA intrastate toll service or both. (3) “Commission” shall mean the Delaware Public Service Commission. (4) “Customer” shall mean a person who subscribes to local exchange services, intraLATA intrastate toll service or both. (5) “Executing carrier” shall mean a carrier that effects a request that a customer’s carrier be changed. (6) “Letter of agency” shall mean a separate document, or easily separable document, signed and dated by the customer or prospective customer, the sole purpose of which is to authorize a carrier to initiate a preferred carrier change. (7) “Preferred carrier” shall mean any carrier providing service to a customer at the time this subchapter is enacted, or such carrier as the customer thereafter designates as the customer’s preferred carrier. (8) “Submitting carrier” shall mean any carrier that requests on behalf of a customer that the customer’s carrier be changed, and seeks to provide retail services to an end user customer.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 924 Prohibitions and changes in preferred carrier selection.

(a) No carrier shall bill for intrastate telecommunications services, nor solicit to provide intrastate telecommunication services, within the State, unless such carrier has received a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Commission. (b) No submitting carrier shall submit a change in the customer’s selection of a carrier prior to obtaining: (1) Authorization from the customer; and (2) Verification of that authorization in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this subchapter and implementing regulations of the Commission. (c) No carrier shall bill or collect from any person a charge for any product or service to which such person has not agreed or subscribed, nor for any amount in excess of that specified in the tariff, price list or contract governing the charges for such services.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 925 Verification of orders for telecommunications service.

(a) No carrier shall submit a preferred carrier change order unless and until the change order has first been confirmed in accordance with 1 of the following procedures: (1) The carrier has obtained the customer’s written authorization; (2) The carrier has obtained the customer’s electronic authorization; or (3) An appropriately qualified independent third party has obtained the customer’s oral authorization to submit the change order. (b) The Commission shall promulgate regulations governing the form and content of all authorizations permitted by this section.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 926 Duty of executing carrier.

An executing carrier shall not verify the submission of a change in a customer’s selection of a provider of telecommunications service received from a submitting carrier. For an executing carrier, compliance with the procedures prescribed in this subchapter shall be defined as prompt execution, without any unreasonable delay, of changes that have been verified by a submitting carrier.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 927 Letter of agency.

(a) A carrier may use a letter of agency to obtain written authorization and verification of a customer’s request to change that customer’s preferred carrier selection. (b) The Commission shall promulgate regulations governing the form and content of letters of agency.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 928 Preferred carrier freezes.

(a) A customer may institute a preferred carrier freeze to prevent a change in such customer’s preferred carrier selection without that customer’s express consent. (b) The Commission shall promulgate regulations governing the procedures for implementing and lifting preferred carrier freezes and the form and contents of solicitations or other materials provided to the customer regarding preferred carriers freezes.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 929 Customer protections.

The Commission shall promulgate regulations governing the procedures to be followed by the customer and carrier in the event that a customer believes that the customer’s carrier has been changed without the customer’s authorization or has caused or allowed the customer to be billed for unauthorized charges and remedies available for violations of the subchapter.

Del. Code tit. 26, § 930 Commission authority.

(a) The Commission is authorized to supplement the provisions hereof by promulgating such additional regulations that it deems necessary to achieve the purposes set forth in § 922 of this title. (b) All Commission regulations promulgated pursuant to this subchapter shall be consistent with federal law.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title26/c009/sc01/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026