WASHINGTON — The D.C. Court of Appeals Thursday affirmed the D.C. Public Service Commission’s approval of Exelon’s $6.8 billion acquisition of Pepco, 16 months after the two utilities completed their merger.
Opponents of the deal that led to the merger went to court in May to argue the PSC made the wrong decision.
Specifically, the Office of the People’s Counsel claimed the three-member PSC failed to give District residents enough notice or an opportunity to be heard during the decision-making process.
“The Court’s decision means that it is imperative for OPC to focus its efforts toward ensuring District consumers receive the maximum benefits that we believe are due to them,” said DC People’s counsel Sandra Mattavous-Frye. “We will view the ruling as impetus to fight even harder against any and all actions that may harm ratepayers.”
Public Citizen and the clean-energy group DC SUN also argued the merger’s approval should be reversed.
“We are disappointed that the court upheld the decision and are considering our next steps,” DC SUN said in a statement.
The PSC originally rejected the merger in August 2015, but reversed its decision after concessions offered by Exelon.
Exelon, which also owns Baltimore Gas & Electric, has 10 million customers and had $31.4 billion in 2016 revenue.
