Pepco Holdings, Exelon submit testimony regarding proposed merger

Pepco Holdings, Exelon submit testimony regarding proposed merger.
Pepco Holdings, Exelon submit testimony regarding proposed merger.
Exelon Corp. and Pepco Holdings, Inc., have submitted testimony to the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (PSC) regarding their proposed merger, they announced on Monday.

Earlier in October, both companies and authorities from Washington D.C.’s Department of Energy and Environment, the Office of the Attorney General and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, among other entities, discussed and reached a settlement. This settlement includes commitments from both companies to offer support in the form of energy bill credits, fewer outages, clean energy production and customer support services for low-income individuals.

“We look forward to the opportunity to discuss the new commitments, which more than double direct benefits to customers in the District of Columbia,” David Velazquez, executive vice president of Power Delivery for Pepco Holdings, said. “The new package has broad support from community and government leaders, including a majority of the District Council.”

The PSC initially rejected the proposed merger at the end of August. It said, however, that the record has been reopened in order to consider the settlement and to be able to issue a final decision in the first portion of 2016.

“The increase in the absolute size of the Customer Investment Fund … together with other forms of direct financial support, such as the commitment to furnish $5.2 million for workforce development and $19 million over 10 years in guaranteed charitable giving, ensures that Pepco’s customers in the district will receive a direct and tangible benefit from the completion of the merger,” Carim Khouzami, senior vice president of Exelon Corp. and chief integration officer of the merger, said.