Big victory for Exelon in Maryland
Exelon Corp. Energy and Utilities Energy and Utilities – Regulation Mergers and Acquisitions More +
Washington, D.C.-based Pepco provides electricity to the nation’s capital, as well as the Maryland suburbs.
Washington, D.C.-based Pepco provides electricity to the nation’s capital, as well as the Maryland suburbs.
Exelon won a big victory today with approval by Maryland regulators of its pending acquisition of Pepco Holdings, the utility company serving Washington, D.C., and its Maryland suburbs.
The 3-2 ruling by the Maryland Public Service Commission was greeted with a relief rally on Wall Street, where Exelon shares were up 3.4 percent to $34.69, and Pepco shares soared 8.4 percent. Pepco stock had fallen in recent days as investors clearly were concerned Maryland would kill the deal.
As it stands, two of Maryland’s five commissioners did vote to deny Exelon, siding with the Maryland Energy Administration and the Maryland attorney general’s view that Exelon would seek to impose anti-consumer policies on Maryland ratepayers to protect its unregulated power plants, whose profits have fallen as power prices have declined in recent years. But the narrow majority prevailed, voting to allow the deal to proceed without imposing any onerous new conditions on Exelon.
