The Delaware Public Service Commission today issued an order approving the merger between Exelon Corporation and Pepco Holdings Inc. under the terms of an amended agreement.
. This action follows the Commission’s deliberations on May 19. At that time, the commission voted to approve the amended agreement. Today’s order approves the merger and authorizes the consummation of the merger. A further order with the PSC’s specific grounds for approval will follow at a later date. The companies announced their proposed merger on April 30, 2014, and submitted their application to to the PSC on June 18, 2014.
Signing off on the April agreement were the PSC Staff, the Delaware Public Advocate, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility, the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition and the Clean Air Council.
The terms provide more than $42 million in direct benefits, deliver significant economic benefits to Delaware and Delmarva Power customers, promote energy efficiency, increase reliability, support workforce development and promote the public interest, Delmarva stated in a release.
The merger will bring together Exelon’s three electric and gas utilities – BGE, ComEd and PECO – and Pepco Holdings’ (PHI) three electric and gas utilities – Atlantic City Electric (ACE), Delmarva Power and Pepco – to create a utility with a service territory stretching from the Washington, D.C. area to the Jersey shore.
The merger still requires approval by the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia.
The transaction was approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission in May, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in February, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in November, the Virginia State Corporation Commission in October and the PHI stockholders in September.
In addition, with the expiration of the U.S. Department of Justice’s review period on Dec. 22, 2014, the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act no longer precludes completion of the merger. The companies expect to complete the merger in the second or third quarter of 2015.
All Pepco companies, including Delmarva Power will maintain their corporate identities.
