DC Residents protest continuing efforts to merge PEPCO, Exelon

On the 17th of September, DC area residents marched on City Hall demanding that the Council and the Mayor stand firm on the city's rejection of the proposed PEPCO-Exelon merger. Exelon is known for customer service even worse than PEPCO plus a virulent opposition to net metering and solar installations. The Public Service Commission has rejected the proposed merger but Exelon has yet to give up and are asking the PSC to reconsider their decision. DC has rejected the merger on grounds that it would interfere with efforts to move PEPCO towards greater use of renewable energy, to which Exelon as proven hostile.

Exelon has investments in nuclear power and there are reports their executives fear subsidies for wind and solar threaten the profitablity of their reactors. This in spite of the huge subsides such as insurance provided by the government without which nuclear power would be impossible. No insurance company would ever sell insurance against something like Chernobyl or Fukashima, as the potential losses could bankrupt even Lloyds of London.

PEPCO, for all their problems, is a local corporation whose business model is based only on eletrical distribution. They have no economic incentive to discourage rooftop solar installations like those that are becoming common in Mount Pleasant. Exelon, by comparison, would not be including any local representatives from PEPCO on their board if they took over PEPCO. To Exelon with all their nukes, net metering for solar is probably about as welcome as watching video over the Internet is to Cable TV companies with big investments in premium movie channels and pay per view.

On top of all else, Exelon has even bought a Texas LNG (fracked, then liquified gas) export facility in Texas. This alone is enough to put Exelon in the same class as Dominion, owners of the notorious LNG export project at Cove Point, MD.

http://www.dcsun.org/advocacy-and-policy/save-dc-solar-oppose-the-exelon...

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Utility-Exelon-Trying-to-Kil...

Video-residents march on City Hall, deliver signed "petition banner" for Mayor's office