Exelon, Pepco settle with D.C., submit new merger plan

Exelon Corp. and Pepco Holdings said this week that a settlement has been reached with officials in Washington, D.C., regarding the companies' proposed merger.

The settlement would ensure substantially enhanced benefits to D.C. consumers and businesses if the Public Service Commission approves the latest merger proposal after rejecting the previous plan.

The settlement was approved by the Office of the People’s Counsel and the Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia. Both companies said this agreement aimed to address concerns about the previous proposal that led to the August rejection.

“The District deserves a healthy utility company that guarantees affordability, reliability and sustainability for residents and ratepayers,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “We kept the conversations with Pepco and Exelon alive because we knew we had to do better for the District. My team negotiated a deal that puts District residents and ratepayers first – by delivering a public utility that is cost-effective, dependable and environmentally sound.”

Within the settlement, the companies included commitments to provide low-income assistance, bill credits and investments in the local area in terms of jobs and the economy. They also agreed to ensure that outages are rare and that any are short in duration.

“Our settlement includes more than 120 commitments to ensure the merger is unequivocally in the public interest,” Exelon CEO and President Chris Crane said.