Maryland Senate Votes to Eliminate Customer Choice in Electricity Suppliers

ANNAPOLIS, Md., April 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Exelon Generation (NYSE: EXC), a major electricity supplier to this region, expressed its extreme disappointment that the Maryland Senate has voted to end electric choice for homeowners and small businesses.

The vote came despite universal agreement that this legislative proposal will not lower customer electricity bills.

"Unfortunately, the Senate has hastily decided that Maryland should return to an inefficient and high cost monopoly model," said Jan Freeman, vice president, Government Affairs for Exelon Generation.

"This bill includes yet another tax for Marylanders they can't afford or tolerate. An energy tax - or the 'non-bypassable surcharge' - will be levied on all ratepayers to pay for energy they may never even use.

"Under this proposal, you will see power plant cost overruns, gross inefficiencies, and consumers who won't have a choice in the matter," he added. "Giving government a mandate and blank check to charge consumers for new construction without considering lower cost options is a recipe for financial disaster."

Exelon Generation operates the Conowingo Hydroelectric Station in Darlington, Md.

Exelon Corporation is one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately $19 billion in annual revenues. The company has one of the industry's largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Exelon distributes electricity to approximately 5.4 million customers in northern Illinois and southeastern Pennsylvania and natural gas to approximately 485,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.

SOURCE Exelon Generation