Constellation-Exelon merger complete
A new major player has joined the US energy market after the merger of Exelon and Constellation received its final regulatory go-ahead from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.A new major player has joined the US energy market after the merger of Exelon and Constellation received its final regulatory go-ahead from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
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| Mayo Shattuck and Chris Crane announce the merger in April 2011 (Image: Exelon) |
The closing of the merger concluded a process launched nearly 12 months ago, when the two companies announced their intention to come together in a $7.9 billion merger. Along the way, the transaction has been approved by the shareholders of both companies and has received regulatory approvals or reviews from the Public Service Commissions of Maryland and New York, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Department of Justice and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The merged company will operate under the name of Exelon and will be headquartered in Chicago, with significant operations in Maryland, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Its 35,000 MWe of owned generation capacity includes over 19,000 MWe of nuclear, making it the largest nuclear generator in the USA.
Exelon president and COO Christopher Crane becomes president and CEO of the expanded Exelon, while Constellation president and CEO Mayo Shattuck becomes its new executive chairman. Both expressed their delight at the FERC's approval enabling their companies to unite. "The combined strengths of Exelon and Constellation provide a solid platform for the future," said Crane, while Shattuck spoke of the company's "unique presence across the energy value chain" encompassing generation, power sales, transmission, delivery and products and services. "This gives us unmatched perspective on today’s energy challenges, and the ability to address them," he said.
The two companies are combining operations immediately, and integration efforts are well underway. The three utilities under the Exelon umbrella - BGE, ComEd and PECO - will remain in their existing headquarters in Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia, respectively. Exelon itself was formed through the 2000 merger of Unicom and PECO to create what was then the largest nuclear power producer in the USA.
As part of their application for FERC approval, the two companies have committed to divesting three of Constellation's non-nuclear generating stations in Maryland totalling 2648 MWe of generating capacity. They have also agreed to sell 500 MWe of baseload energy under contracts that will extend until 2015.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
