In 2006, Frank Murphy and Murphy & Landon began a long-term commitment to environmental and sustainable energy initiatives in Delaware. In that year, the Delaware General Assembly passed the bi-partisan Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 45 establishing a Blue Ribbon Task Force to study the feasibility of developing a Sustainable Energy Utility in Delaware. The Task Force included leading Democratic and Republican lawmakers, public members, the Director of the University of Delaware’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, and Delaware’s Public Advocate for utility customers. Frank Murphy agreed to serve as the volunteer attorney to the Task Force to assist it in considering legislative options to create a Sustainable Energy Utility in Delaware.
In 2007, the Task Force issued a report to the General Assembly and then-Governor, Ruth Ann Minner, recommending that Delaware enact legislation to form the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (“DESEU”), a nonprofit corporation, designed to advance sustainable energy initiatives and energy savings programs in The First State. Frank Murphy helped to draft the legislation and continued to serve as the attorney to the Task Force. The Delaware Senate passed the DESEU bill, Senate Substitute No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 18, on May 10, 2007 with a bi-partisan vote of 19 to 1. The Delaware House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 36 to 0, and Governor Minner signed the legislation into law on June 28, 2007. Since 2007, Frank Murphy has served as General Counsel to the DESEU.
The DESEU website describes its mission:
“The DESEU operates as the premier one-stop-shop for connecting and empowering energy consumers with the resources to reduce costs, improve the environment and ensure energy independence for future generations.”
The DESEU operates energy savings and efficiency programs for low and moderate income Delawareans, including weatherization for housing.
The organization provides performance contracting and bond financing for Delaware’s schools and government agencies. The DESEU has provided about $100 million in green energy bond financing for government buildings and equipment projects creating jobs and saving taxpayers millions of dollars through energy savings. The DESEU provides low interest loans to businesses, including the farm and agricultural sector, which represent a major part of Delaware’s economy.
To learn more about the DESEU and to review its annual reports, please visit its website: https://www.energizedelaware.org/home/deseu/
Author(s)
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Frank Murphy is a trial attorney with more than 35 years of litigation experience. He has tried cases in all of the Trial Courts in Delaware, including the Delaware Superior Court, the Court of Chancery, and the United States District Court. He earned the highest possible “AV” rating by the Martindale-Hubbell Attorney Peer Review Rating Organization.
