Summary
This 8-K filing from Exelon Corporation (EXC) and its subsidiary PECO Energy Company (PECO) reports on significant legislative developments in Pennsylvania impacting the energy sector. The Pennsylvania General Assembly has passed House Bill No. 2200, which mandates energy-conservation and demand-reduction targets for electric utilities, including PECO, starting in 2011. This legislation requires PECO to develop plans for energy efficiency and demand response programs, a fifteen-year transition to smart-meter technology, and the availability of time-of-use and real-time pricing plans for its customers. The bill also provides guidelines for electricity procurement, supporting competitive, market-based mechanisms. Importantly, it allows for the recovery of costs associated with these new programs, subject to approval by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PAPUC). The filing also notes the absence of legislation to mitigate potential electricity price increases upon the expiration of retail electric generation rate caps in 2011, an issue PECO has addressed with its own filed phase-in plan.
Key Highlights
- 1Pennsylvania legislature passed House Bill No. 2200, mandating energy conservation and demand reduction targets for utilities starting in 2011.
- 2PECO Energy Company must file plans by July 1, 2009, to meet these energy-efficiency and demand-response goals.
- 3PECO is required to transition its customers to smart-meter technology over a 15-year period.
- 4The legislation necessitates PECO making time-of-use rates and real-time price plans available to customers.
- 5The bill includes provisions for cost recovery for these new programs, pending PAPUC approval.
- 6New guidelines are established for electricity procurement, promoting competitive market-based methods.
- 7No legislation passed to mitigate potential electricity price increases after retail rate cap transition periods end in 2011.