Pepco-Exelon Merger Gets Green Light from D.C. Public Service Commission
The Washington D.C. Public Service Commission (PSC) voted in favor of the PEPCO-Exelon merger on Wednesday. After several tumultuous months, both companies can now begin the next steps of a multi-billion dollar merger. In a two to one vote, the PSC ruled that the merger would benefit District customers and “is in the public interest.”
The PSC previously voted against the merger at a meeting held on February 26. Today’s vote approves a revised plan that was filed by both parties on March 7 with no further action needed from the committee. The merger of PEPCO and Exelon would create one of the largest utility companies in the United States with nearly 10 million customers.
The PSC deemed that the merger serves the public interest in three main ways.
- Pepco will set up a $72.8 million Customer Investment Fund with $25.6 million in rate base credits
- $11.25 million for energy efficiency and energy conservation programs with a focus on low and limited income residents
- $21.55 million to promote the District’s sustainability initiative to modernize the power grid
“These benefits, among others, would not be available to District ratepayers if the merger is not approved,” the commission said in a statement.
Chris Crane is the president and CEO of Exelon.
“Today, we join together as one company to play a vital role as a leader in our industry and the mid-Atlantic region,” Crane said in a news release. “We’ve made a number of commitments to customers in all of the PEPCO Holdings utilities’ jurisdictions; the District, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey and we look forward to getting to work to deliver those benefits to our customers and communities.”
Allison Fisher is the outreach director for the Public Citizen’s Energy Program which is strongly against the merger.
“By clearing the path for Exelon to take over PEPCO, the D.C. Public Service Commission has abdicated its responsibility to put the public interest before corporate profits. We are deeply disappointed that the commission discarded its well-informed and publicly supported position to reject the takeover. This is a huge loss for consumers, a discouraging setback for the institutions entrusted to protect them and a sad commentary on how things are done in the District,” Fisher said in a statement.
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