With Office of People’s Counsel Denouncement of Exelon-Pepco Merger, This Bad Movie Should End
March 1, 2016
With Office of People’s Counsel Denouncement of Exelon-Pepco Merger, This Bad Movie Should End
Statement of Allison Fisher, Outreach Director, Public Citizen’s Energy Program
Note: Today, the Office of People’s Counsel issued a press release opposing the latest settlement deal that would enable Chicago-based Exelon Corporation to take over Pepco. Public Citizen has been actively involved in both alerting and mobilizing D.C. residents against the proposed merger. Public Citizen members who live in the District of Columbia emailed, phoned and testified before the commission opposing the merger.
The Office of People’s Counsel has done the right thing by recognizing that a takeover of Pepco by Chicago behemoth Exelon is not in the public interest. For the sake of D.C. residents, we urge other parties in the agreement to denounce the deal, as well.
Over the past few months, we’ve seen various versions of terms for a takeover. None has been able to surmount the fundamental flaws of an Exelon-Pepco merger: Exelon wants D.C. residents to bail it out of a precarious financial position caused by its ownership of expensive, foundering nuclear power plants.
This deal is falling to pieces, as well it should. The twists and turns of this “Groundhog Day”-like saga have caused an enormous amount of upheaval in the District, as well as shown the seamy underbelly of how business is done here.
It’s time for this bad movie to end. Let the closing credits roll.
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