County Councilmember Roger Berliner will introduce a resolution on Tuesday that urges the state’s utility regulator to tie Pepco’s proposed sale to improved performance.
Berliner asked members of the Council to support the resolution, which would ask the Maryland Public Service Commission not to approve Pepco’s $6.83 billion sale to Exelon unless the company makes “a firm commitment” to top quartile performance.
The much maligned electric utility has been ranked in the lowest quartile of companies nationally for the last five years when it comes to service. In the proposed sale, Pepco would maintain its branding and headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The sale also includes two other utilities in Pepco Holding Inc.’s portfolio.
The Maryland PSC is one of a number of financial regulators and state utility commisions that must approve the sale, which Pepco and Chicago-based Exelon announced last week.
Local advocates and those whose power companies have recently gone through an Exelon takeover have characterized the sale as a golden opportunity to require reliability and service improvements.
In announcing the sale, Exelon said it would offer $100 million in rate credits and other assistance directly to customers.
Berliner’s resolution would require the company obtain top quartile performance in three years and tie that improvement to how much the utility is allowed to get out of rate increases. Pepco is in the middle of PSC hearings on its latest rate increase request — this time for $43 million the utility said it needs for infrastructure improvements.
ComEd and PECO, two utilities Exelon owns, are delivering first-quartile performance according to reliability rankings. Baltimore Gas & Electric, which Exelon bought in 2012, has seen its rating improve to its best-ever levels since the sale.
The PSC has not yet received an application for the Pepco sale. Once the application is filed, the PSC must decide on whether to allow the deal within 225 days, according to a PSC spokesperson.
Photo via Abigail Reid
