The nation’s largest utility appears to be gaining a bigger foothold in New Jersey.
In a surprise decision, the District of Columbia Public Service Commission narrowly approved a merger between Pepco Holdings, Inc., the owner of Atlantic City Electric, and Exelon.
For the more than half a million customers of Atlantic City Electric, the merger means they will receive up to $62 million in rate credits approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in February 2015.
The decision, which reversed an earlier rejection of the deal by the commission last summer, is the final regulatory approval needed for the $6.8 billion deal to go forward — if Exelon accepts the terms of the settlement approved 2-1 by the district agency.
The merger would create the nation’s largest utility with about 10 million customers and establish Exelon, the country’s largest operator of nuclear power plants, as a major presence in New Jersey. A decade ago, the Chicago-based energy giant’s bid to acquire Public Service Enterprise Group.