Group says Public Service Commission failed utterly by approving monopolistic deal that will harm ratepayers and the environment for years to come
BALTIMORE—The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) today deeply harmed the interests of ratepayers and the environment by approving a widely contested merger between Chicago-based utility giant Exelon and regional utility Pepco. The Maryland regulators’ 3-2 decision to approve the deal is being denounced by environmental and consumer advocates as a major blow to the state’s ability to achieve a clean, reliable and efficient 21st century electric grid.
Click here to read the Maryland PSC order on the Exelon-Pepco Merger.
The D.C. Public Service Commission has yet to rule on the merger, and could still block the deal.
Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a group that intervened before the PSC against the proposed merger, released the following statement in response:
“The PSC has made a grave error today in approving the Exelon-Pepco merger. This approval, with no meaningful conditions added by the commissioners, threatens to negatively affect Marylanders for decades to come. The PSC has totally failed in its responsibility to protect the ratepayers from exactly the sort of monopolistic harm that they have now ushered in. The PSC has put the profits of a Chicago-based corporation over the public interest of Marylanders, despite the overwhelming opposition of the state’s attorney general, the Office of People’s Counsel, the Maryland Energy Administration, and Maryland’s environmental community.
“This decision today by the PSC will prove to be historic – and the commissioners themselves long-remembered in the sharpest negative light – for the rate increases soon to follow and the harm to the environment and the economy. Of particular note, Commissioner Kelly Speakes-Backman – an O’Malley appointee to the commission and a staunch advocate for environmental protection through clean energy – defied expectations and cast the swing vote in the 3-2 decision, joining Chairman Kevin Hughes and Commissioner Lawrence Brenner. (Commissioners Anne Hoskins and Harold Williams dissented, voting against the merger). Speakes-Backman has simply stunned the environmental and renewable energy industry with her inexplicable support of a decision that will now make her effectively known for years for the negative consequences to come.
“As the PSC commissioners themselves noted in their decision, this nearly $7 billion merger raised unusually deep concerns across the state about risks to consumers, businesses, and the environment in Maryland. The merger could raise rates and inhibit wind and solar development, as well as reduce efficiency gains, across 85 percent of the state’s customer base for electricity. Unless D.C. PSC regulators make the right choice where Maryland went wrong, these negatives impacts are almost certain to occur with today’s flawed approval. Maryland attorney General Brian Frosh spoke for many opponents before this decision in saying ‘no amount of money or structural changes can make this deal into one that’s in Maryland’s best interest.’ Yet the PSC today, tragically, ruled otherwise.
“As the Commissioners surely know, Exelon will now become the largest utility in America and will almost certainly double down on its established business model of protecting its aging and unprofitable nuclear fleet at all costs while fighting any significant expansion of wind and solar power in Maryland. Likewise, the company will likely continue to oppose significant increases in energy efficiency gains or meaningful development of community-based energy systems and micro grids.
“Exelon’s application is still pending before the D.C. Public Service Commission. Just this week, several D.C. Council members called on the mayor to oppose the merger. Hopefully, D.C.’s Public Service Commissioners will heed the call of leaders and residents throughout the District, and reject this woefully insufficient merger proposal.”
Contact:
Mike Tidwell, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org
Kelly Trout, 717-439-0346, kelly@chesapeakeclimate.org
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