Dive Brief:
- Exelon CEO Christopher Crane testified before the D.C. Public Service Commission, making the case for his company's proposed acquisition of Pepco Holdings.
- Crane promised to maintain and expand staffing, RTO Insider reports, along with customer bill credits, reliability upgrades and a greater push for energy efficiency.
- In Maryland, the Montgomery County Council passed a resolution saying the merger does not do enough to protect ratepayers.
Dive Insight:
Exelon CEO Christopher Crane is putting the hard sell on regulators in the District of Columbia, lobbying for approval of a proposed $6.8 billion acquisition of Pepco Holdings. RTO Insider reports that during hearings on the proposed deal, Crane told the D.C. Public Service Commission that the company would retain the Pepco headquarters in the city, commit to expanding its workforce for at least two years, and match incentives added in other jurisdictions which considered the deal.
Hearings in the District will continue for a week. D.C., Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey regulators have yet to sign off on the merger, although the companies have reached tentative agreements in the latter two states. Last month Maryland regulators opted to delay a decision until May 8, about a month later than anticipated.
If approved, the deal would combine Exelon’s three electric and gas utilities — BGE, ComEd and PECO — and Pepco Holdings’ three electric and gas utilities – Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva Power and Pepco.
Last month, the Montgomery County Council passed a resolution calling on state regulators to "mitigate the serious risks to the public interest by insisting, at a minimum, on commitments by Exelon (a) to hold down costs to ratepayers and (b) to national leadership in clean, renewable, distributed energy and energy efficiency, and a commitment to a renewable energy standard in line with top-performing states."
Earlier in March, Exelon and Pepco filed a settlement that included commitments to designate a portion of a proposed $94.4 million customer investment fund to provide $36.8 million in bill credits, or approximately $50 per Pepco and Delmarva Power customer in Maryland. The remainder — $57.6 million — would go toward funding energy-efficiency programs designated by Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and the PSC.