DC blocks $6.8B utility merger

Local regulators in Washington, D.C., voted Tuesday to block the proposed acquisition of local power utility Pepco Holdings Inc. by mega-utility Exelon Corp.

D.C.’s Public Service Commission is now the sole entity to vote against the $6.8 billion plan that the companies announced last year

{mosads}Counterparts in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey all approved the merger previously, as did the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 

Tuesday’s vote on the three-member D.C. commission was 2-1, the Washington City Paper reported.

The commissioners opposed to the deal cited the fact that Exelon and Pepco have not made good with critics of the merger, who want specific conditions attached to it that would protect ratepayers and senior citizens, put solar panels on local government buildings and other benefits.

“This decision is one of the most significant decisions that the commission will ever make,” commissioner Betty Ann Kane said at the meeting, according to the City Paper.

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network was among numerous environmental groups to oppose the merger.

“Today’s ruling is a major victory for people across D.C., Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey and for the growth of clean energy across our region,” Mike Tidwell, the group’s director, said in a statement.

“In the end, all of Exelon’s money, lawyers and lobbyists couldn’t mask the overwhelming facts, confirmed today by the D.C. PSC, that this deal would be a boon for Exelon and Pepco shareholders and bad for virtually everyone else,” he said.