Public Citizen, D.C. SUN Urge Court to Block Exelon Takeover of Pepco
Feb. 7, 2017
Public Citizen, D.C. SUN Urge Court to Block Exelon Takeover of Pepco
Late Monday, Public Citizen and D.C. Solar United Neighborhoods (DC SUN) filed an opening brief (PDF) to challenge the D.C. Public Service Commission’s (PSC) decision to approve Exelon’s takeover of Pepco. The groups argue that the merger is not in the public interest, and the PSC violated the law in several ways when approving it. They urge the D.C. Court of Appeals, the district’s highest court, to overturn the PSC’s decision.
The groups contend that the commission gave too little notice of hearings (12 days instead of the required 45 days); violated the law by changing its mind on the merger without explaining why (the PSC voted against it, then later reversed itself with little explanation); and failed to support its finding that the merger is in the public interest.
The merger was approved by the PSC on March 23, 2016. On June 17, the PSC rejected requests by Public Citizen and others to reconsider its decision to allow the merger. Public Citizen and DC SUN filed a petition on Aug. 16 to ask the court to block the merger. Find more information on Public Citizen’s involvement since the merger was first proposed in April 2014.
###