PECO Energy Company

Last updated
PECO Energy
Company type Subsidiary
Founded1881;143 years ago (1881)
Headquarters PECO Building
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Parent Exelon
Website peco.com

PECO, formerly the Philadelphia Electric Company, is an energy company founded in 1881 and incorporated in 1929. [1] It became part of Exelon Corporation in 2000 when it merged with Commonwealth Edison's holding company Unicom Corp.

Contents

The company has approximately 2,300 employees; its call center and field craft personnel are members of IBEW Local 614. PECO serves about 1.6 million electric and over 511,000 natural gas customers; it is the largest combination utility in Pennsylvania, and has a franchise utility service area of 2,100 square miles (5,400 km2) with a population of 3.8 million people.

Electricity and natural gas

PECO operates in southeastern Pennsylvania and provides electricity to about 1.6 million customers and natural gas to over 511,000 customers. The company's electric service area covers all of the city of Philadelphia and Delaware County; most of Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery counties; and the southeastern corner of York County. The company's natural gas service area covers all of Delaware County; most of Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery counties; and a small portion of eastern Lancaster County. [2]

PECO formerly provided electricity to 35,000 customers in portions of Cecil and Harford counties in Maryland through subsidiary Conowingo Power Company. [3] On June 19, 1995, Delmarva Power acquired the Conowingo Power Company service area from PECO. [4]

PECO's distribution line voltages are 2,400/4,160 volts wye and 7,620/13,200 volts wye. Subtransmission voltages are 34,500 volts and 69,000 volts. Transmission line voltages are 138,000 volts, 230,000 volts and 500,000 volts. The company is a member of the PJM Interconnection.

As of 2012 PECO's peak electric load occurred on July 22, 2011 and was 8,983 megawatts (MWs) and its highest peak load in the winter season occurred on December 20, 2004 and was 6,838 MW. [5] Residential electric usage makes up about 35 percent of PECO's total electric delivery and half of the annual electric revenue.

PECO's electric sales tend to peak in the summer and winter seasons, driven by air conditioning and heating load respectively when extreme temperatures create greater demand. The company's natural gas sales are generally higher during the winter periods when cold temperatures create demand for heating. The company's highest gas sales occurred on January 17, 2000 and was 718 million cubic feet (20.3 million cubic metres ) of gas. [5] Gas usage by residential customers is approximately half of PECO's total deliveries.

The PECO transition period for the competitive electric generation market ended on Dec. 31, 2010, when caps on retail rates and competitive transition charges on customer bills ended. PECO electric rates had been capped for 12 years. PECO expects to purchase all of its wholesale electricity from competitive market sources subsequent to 2010 with retail customers charged the actual costs of procurement.

According to Exelon SEC Form 10-k for the year 2012: nuclear energy supplied 53% of power supplied, fossils and renewables provided 12% of power supplied, and purchased power provided 35% of power supplied.

Facilities and infrastructure

Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Mayor Michael Nutter, and Vice President Joe Biden visiting PECO's headquarters in 2015 Joe Biden, Ernest Moniz and Michael Nutter visit PECO Energy Company.jpg
Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Mayor Michael Nutter, and Vice President Joe Biden visiting PECO's headquarters in 2015

PECO owns, maintains, and operates:

PECO has a liquefied natural gas storage facility in West Conshohocken, PA. with capacity of 1,200,000,000 cubic feet (34,000,000 m3) and a propane-air plant in Chester, PA. with storage capacity of 1,980,000 US gallons (7,500 m3). The company also owns 29 natural gas city gate stations at locations that link with various interstate pipelines.

The Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company was constructed in 1916 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. [6]

PECO supplies legacy two-phase electric power [7] to sections of Philadelphia where infrastructure upgrades are impracticable. Philadelphia is one of only two cities with in-service two-phase infrastructure. [8]

Revenues

PECO's total assets are valued at $9.8 billion. The company delivered 87,700,000,000 cubic feet (2.5×109 m3) of natural gas and 39.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2008, generating $5.5 billion in revenue.

PECO's utility business is capital intensive and requires significant investments for the electric and gas delivery systems to ensure adequate capacity and reliability for customers. PECO's anticipated capital expenditures for 2009 are estimated at $400 million—about three-fourths for the electric business, nearly 20 percent for gas, and the rest is common. The company pays about $510 million in local, state and federal income and other taxes annually.

Controversies

In the 1970s through the 1980s, community activist pressure contributed to the delayed opening of nuclear power plants at PECO's Limerick Generating Station and the temporary cancellation of the planned Limerick 2 nuclear power plant, Pennsylvania. [9] Both Limerick 1 and Limerick 2 were built and producing power by 1990.

In 2015, the Earth Quaker Action Team began protesting PECO to demand that it expand the amount of solar energy that it buys, and to source solar power from North Philadelphia in order to create jobs. [10] PECO purchases enough solar energy to power 2,000 residential households. Twice each year, in March and September, it submits those plans to the Pennsylvania's state regulators for approval. The utility runs the bidding process through a third party for energy suppliers and wholesalers. PECO's sister company, Constellation, is the third largest developer in Pennsylvania of solar installations for commercial, industrial, government and customers, and its parent company, Exelon, has a portfolio of wind-generating power projects across the country. [11] PECO currently generates 0.14% of its energy portfolio from solar energy, [12] but, according to the environmental activists group Earth Quaker Action Team, “...could generate up to 20% of their portfolio from solar.” Sourcing solar energy from rooftop solar panels “...would generate 70 jobs...” or “...could generate up to 4000 new jobs in Philadelphia.” [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limerick Generating Station</span> Nuclear power plant in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, US

The Limerick Generating Station is a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania located next to the Schuylkill River in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, northwest of Philadelphia. The facility has two General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR) units, cooled by natural draft cooling towers. According to its owner, Constellation Energy, the two units are capable of producing 2,317 megawatts of power, which combined would provide electricity to around 2 million households. Constellation owns and operates this facility following their separation from Exelon Corporation in 2022. With the exception of refueling outages, Limerick Generating Station continuously operates at 100% power. The plant is connected to the grid, and transmits power, via multiple 500kv transmission lines.

The Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc. (PSEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, US, established in 1985 with a legacy dating back to 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern California Edison</span> Electrical utility in Southern California, United States

Southern California Edison (SCE), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electric utility company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of approximately 50,000 square miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating Station</span> Nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania

The Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station is an American nuclear power plant that is located 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Harrisburg in Peach Bottom Township, York County, Pennsylvania. Situated close to the Susquehanna River, it is three miles north of the Maryland border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exelon</span> American utility company

Exelon Corporation is a public utility headquartered in Chicago, and incorporated in Pennsylvania. Exelon is the largest electric parent company in the United States by revenue and is the largest regulated electric utility in the United States with approximately 10 million customers. The company is ranked 99th on the Fortune 500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constellation Energy</span> Energy company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland

Constellation Energy Corporation is an American energy company headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The company provides electric power, natural gas, and energy management services. It has approximately two million customers across the continental United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delmarva Power</span> Energy company

Delmarva Power is an energy company that provides electricity and natural gas to customers on portions of the Delmarva Peninsula in the states of Delaware and Maryland. The company is a subsidiary of Exelon.

DTE Electric Company was founded in 1886.

Consol Energy Inc. is an American energy company with interests in coal headquartered in the suburb of Cecil Township, in the Southpointe complex, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2017, Consol formed two separate entities: CNX Resources Corporation and CONSOL Energy Inc. While CNX Resources Corp. focuses on natural gas, spin-off Consol Mining Corporation, now Consol Energy Inc. focuses on coal. In 2010, Consol was the leading producer of high-BTU bituminous coal in the United States and the U.S.'s largest underground coal mining company. The company employs more than 1,600 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conowingo Dam</span> Dam in Cecil and Harford counties, Maryland

The Conowingo Dam is a large hydroelectric dam in the lower Susquehanna River near the town of Conowingo, Maryland. The medium-height, masonry gravity dam is one of the largest non-federal hydroelectric dams in the U.S., and the largest dam in the state of Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbadoes Island (Pennsylvania)</span>

Barbadoes Island is an island in the Schuylkill River in West Norriton Township, south of Norristown in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Southbound U.S. Route 202 and various localized rail lines cross over the eastern tip of the island. It is about 90 acres (36 ha) in size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbados Light and Power Company</span> Electrical utility in Barbados

The Barbados Light & Power Company Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emera Caribbean and currently the sole electricity utility provider in the country of Barbados. It started operations on 17 June 1911. The company claims it has over 100,000 customers. The fuel provided is natural gas and fuel oil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gould Street Generating Station</span> Former electric generating plant in Baltimore, Maryland, US

The Gould Street Generating Station was a former 100 MW electric generating plant operated by Exelon that was located on Gould Street in south Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The plant was adjacent to an elevated section of freeway I-95 and was south of the Riverside neighborhood and west of the Locust Point neighborhood of Baltimore. The plant site, located on the shore of the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River, was used for the generation of electric power for over one hundred years before being shut down on June 1, 2019. The site was purchased by Greenspring Realty Partners, Inc. for $3.1 million in December 2019. Demolition began in October 2020. The original brick buildings, the large storage tanks behind them, and other minor structures on the southwest portion of the property were demolished as of March 2021, but as of April 2022 the larger steel building to the northeast on the property remains. A large portion of the property was acquired by Weller Development in July 2021 and the future of the remaining structure and the property is not known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cairnbrook Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Cairnbrook Historic District is a national historic district located at Shade Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 132 contributing buildings and 8 contributing structures. It encompasses an area developed by the Loyalhanna Coal and Coke Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1912 and 1920. It includes the remaining extant mine resources and the archaeological remains of the mine. They consist of workers' housing, a variety of commercial and social buildings, and a modern draft entry mine with accompanying extractive buildings and structures. Notable buildings include the motor barn, supply house, electric substation, and Loyalhanna Coal and Coke Company Office (1914). The mine operated until 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Yard-Dickson Manufacturing Co. Site</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Yard-Dickson Manufacturing Co. Site is a national historic district located in Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses the Steamtown National Historic Site and Scranton Army Ammunition Plant and includes 16 contributing buildings, four contributing sites, and five contributing structures. The yard includes buildings and structures related to the yard's expansion in 1899-1939, and its usage as steam locomotive maintenance complex. The Dickson Manufacturing Company built steam locomotives, and the site of its works are included in this district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company</span> United States historic place

Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company is a historic former coal-fired power station, located on the Delaware River in Chester, Delaware County, southeastern Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland General Electric Company Station "L" Group</span> Historic building complex in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Portland General Electric Company Station "L" Group in southeast Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon was a cluster of six industrial buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built between 1910 and 1929 by Portland General Electric (PGE), it was added to the register in 1985. In 1986, PGE gave Station L and 18.5 acres (7.5 ha) of land to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). The Station L turbine is a central feature of OMSI's Turbine Hall. The complex was listed on the National Register in 1985, and was delisted in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooke Dam</span> Dam in Iosco County, Michigan

Cooke Dam is a hydro-electric dam on the Au Sable River in Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as the Cooke Hydroelectric Plant.

Unicom Corporation was an American energy holding company formed in 1994 from Commonwealth Edison after executives considered a corporate image makeover. The holding company merged with PECO Energy Company on October 23, 2000 to form Exelon.

References

  1. Wainwright, Nicholas B. (1961). History of the Philadelphia Electric Company, 1881-1961 . Philadelphia. p. 213.
  2. "Company Information". PECO Energy Company. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  3. "PECO Energy To Sell Conowingo Power Company To Delmarva Power and Light Company" (Press release). PECO Energy. May 25, 1994. Retrieved May 24, 2023 via PRNewswire.
  4. "Allegheny Generating Company, et al.'; Electric Rate and Corporate Regulation Filings". Federal Register . July 17, 1995. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Exelon Corporation Form 10-K (Report). United States Securities and Exchange Commission. December 31, 2012. p. 21. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013.
  6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  7. Electric Service Tariff (PDF) (Report). PECO Energy Company. May 27, 2022. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 23, 2022.
  8. "A Tale Of Two Phases And Tech Inertia". Hackaday. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  9. "U.S. Anti-nuclear activists partially block establishment of nuclear power plant in Limerick, PA, 1977-82". Global Nonviolent Action Database. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  10. Maykuth, Andrew (March 23, 2016). "Protesters demand Peco support solar development in N. Phila" . The Philadelphia Inquirer .
  11. Shamlin III, Wilford (March 24, 2016). "Clergy, activists demand more clean energy from PECO". Philadelphia Tribune . Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  12. "2014 Annual Report, Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004" (PDF). Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  13. "Quaker group says North Philly solar panels could meet PECO power target this year". StateImpact Pennsylvania. March 24, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-07.

Further reading