Exelon, a utility services holding company, operates through its principal subsidiaries—Generation, ComEd and PECO—as described below, each of which is treated as an operating segment by Exelon. See Note 20 of the Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional segment information.
Exelon was incorporated in Pennsylvania in February 1999. Exelon’s principal executive offices are located at 10 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603, and its telephone number is 312-394-7398.
Generation
Generation’s business consists of its owned and contracted electric generating facilities, its wholesale energy marketing operations and its competitive retail supply operations.
Generation was formed in 2000 as a Pennsylvania limited liability company. Generation began operations as a result of a corporate restructuring, effective January 1, 2001, in which Exelon separated its generation and other competitive businesses from its regulated energy delivery businesses at ComEd and PECO. Generation’s principal executive offices are located at 300 Exelon Way, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 19348, and its telephone number is 610-765-5959.
ComEd
ComEd’s energy delivery business consists of the purchase and regulated retail sale of electricity and the provision of transmission and distribution services to
retail customers in northern Illinois, including the City of Chicago.
ComEd was organized in the State of Illinois in 1913 as a result of the merger of Cosmopolitan Electric Company into the original corporation named Commonwealth Edison Company, which was incorporated in 1907. ComEd’s principal executive offices are located at 440 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60605, and its telephone number is 312-394-4321.
PECO
PECO’s energy delivery business consists of the purchase and regulated retail sale of electricity and the provision of transmission and distribution services to retail customers in southeastern Pennsylvania, including the City of Philadelphia, as well as the purchase and regulated retail sale of natural gas and the provision of distribution services to retail customers in the Pennsylvania counties surrounding the City of Philadelphia.
PECO was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1929. PECO’s principal executive offices are located at 2301 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, and its telephone number is 215-841-4000.
Generation
Generation is one of the largest competitive electric generation companies in the United States, as measured by owned and controlled MW. Generation combines its large generation fleet with an experienced wholesale energy marketing operation and a competitive retail supply operation.
Generation’s presence in well-developed wholesale energy markets, integrated hedging strategy that mitigates the adverse impact of short-term market volatility, and low-cost nuclear generating fleet that is operated consistently at high capacity factors position it well to succeed in competitive energy markets.
At December 31, 2009, Generation owned generation assets with an aggregate net capacity of 24,850 MW, including 17,009 MW of nuclear capacity. Generation controlled another 6,153 MW of capacity through long-term contracts.
Generation’s wholesale marketing unit, Power Team, a major wholesale marketer of energy, draws upon Generation’s energy generation portfolio and logistical expertise to ensure delivery of energy to Generation’s wholesale customers under long-term and short-term contracts, including a full requirements PPA with PECO, which expires on December 31, 2010, and procurement contracts with ComEd and PECO covering a portion of their current and future electricity requirements. In addition, Power Team markets energy in the wholesale, bilateral and spot markets.
Generation’s retail business provides retail electric and gas services as an unregulated retail energy supplier in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio. Generation’s retail business is dependent upon continued deregulation of retail electric and gas markets and Generation’s ability to obtain supplies of electricity and gas at competitive prices in the wholesale market.
Generation is a public utility under the Federal Power Act, which gives the FERC exclusive ratemaking jurisdiction over wholesale sales of electricity and the transmission of electricity in interstate commerce. Under the Federal Power Act, FERC has the authority to grant or deny market-based rates for sales of energy, capacity and ancillary services to ensure that such sales are just and reasonable. The FERC’s jurisdiction over ratemaking also includes the authority to suspend the market-based rates of the utilities and set cost-based rates should the FERC find the market-based rates are not just and reasonable. Pursuant to the Federal Power Act, all public utilities subject to FERC’s jurisdiction are required to file rate schedules with FERC with respect to wholesale sales and transmission of electricity. Open-Access Transmission tariffs established under FERC regulation give Generation transmission access that enables Generation to participate in competitive wholesale markets. Matters subject to FERC jurisdiction include, but are not limited to, third-party financings, review of mergers, dispositions of jurisdictional facilities and acquisitions of securities of another public utility or an existing operational generating facility; affiliate transactions; intercompany financings and cash management arrangements; certain internal corporate reorganizations; and certain holding company acquisitions of public utility and holding company securities and matters. Specific operations of Generation are also subject to the jurisdiction of various other Federal, state, regional and local agencies, including the NRC. Additionally, Generation is subject to mandatory reliability standards promulgated by the NERC, with the approval of the FERC. The promulgation of these standards has created the risk of fines and penalties being imposed by NERC and/or FERC for noncompliance. Exelon has a company-wide NERC Reliability Standards Compliance Program, which includes an employee training program, independent audits, and self assessments.
For a number of years, RTOs, such as PJM, have been formed in a number of regions to provide transmission service across multiple transmission systems. To date, PJM, the MISO, ISO-NE and Southwest Power Pool, have been approved as RTOs. The intended benefits of establishing these entities include regional planning, managing transmission congestion, developing larger wholesale markets for energy and capacity, maintaining reliability, market monitoring and the elimination or reduction of redundant transmission charges imposed by multiple transmission providers when wholesale customers take transmission service across several transmission systems.
PECO
PECO is engaged principally in the purchase and regulated retail sale of electricity and the provision of transmission and distribution services to retail customers in southeastern Pennsylvania, including the City of Philadelphia, as well as the purchase and regulated retail sale of natural gas and the provision of distribution services to retail customers in the Pennsylvania counties surrounding the City of Philadelphia. PECO is a public utility under the Pennsylvania Public Utility Code subject to regulation by the PAPUC as to electric and gas rates and service, the issuances of certain securities and certain other aspects of PECO’s operations. PECO is a public utility under the Federal Power Act subject to regulation by FERC as to transmission rates and certain other aspects of PECO’s business and by the U.S. Department of Transportation as to pipeline safety and other aspects of gas operations. Specific operations of PECO are subject to the jurisdiction of various other Federal, state, regional and local agencies. Additionally, PECO is also subject to mandatory reliability standards by the NERC, for which Exelon has a company-wide NERC Reliability Standards Compliance Program.
PECO’s combined electric and natural gas retail service territory has an area of approximately 2,100 square miles and an estimated population of 3.7 million. PECO provides electric delivery service in an area of approximately 1,900 square miles, with a population of approximately 3.7 million,
ComEd and PECO
Transmission Services
ComEd and PECO provide unbundled transmission service under rates established by FERC. FERC has used its regulation of transmission to encourage competition for wholesale generation services and the development of regional structures to facilitate regional wholesale markets. Under FERC’s open access transmission policy promulgated in Order No. 888, ComEd and PECO, as owners of transmission facilities, are required to provide open access to their transmission facilities under filed tariffs at cost-based rates. ComEd and PECO are required to comply with FERC’s Standards of Conduct regulation, as amended, governing the communication of non-public information between the transmission owner’s employees and wholesale merchant employees.
PJM is the ISO and the FERC-approved RTO for the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. PJM is the transmission provider under, and the administrator of, the PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff (PJM Tariff), operates the PJM energy, capacity and other markets, and, through central dispatch, controls the day-to-day operations of the bulk power system for the PJM region. ComEd and PECO are members of PJM and provide regional transmission service pursuant to the PJM Tariff. ComEd, PECO and the other transmission owners in PJM have turned over control of their transmission facilities to PJM, and their transmission systems are currently under the dispatch control of PJM. Under the PJM Tariff, transmission service is provided on a region-wide, open-access basis using the transmission facilities of the PJM members at rates based on the costs of transmission service.
Employees
As of December 31, 2009, Exelon and its subsidiaries had 19,329 employees in the following companies, of which 8,728 or 45% are covered by collective bargaining agreements.