On record Opposing the Exelon-Pepco Merger : 1500+ DC Residents, 27 Neighborhood Commissions, 26 Community organizations,
4 DC COUNCIL MEMBERS... And Counting. Add your voice.
Opposition to the merger has united a wide coalition of DC residents. This includes good-government activists, low-income ratepayer advocates, renewable energy supporters, and environmentalists. The public voice is clear: Exelon’s takeover is bad deal for DC. It’s not too late to add your voice. Please join in the opposition now and send the PSC and the Mayor’s Office a message saying you too oppose this takeover. In addition to the ANCs and community groups that have sent in comments, twenty-six diverse organizations have signed the Power DC declaration to oppose the merger.
|
Rev. Dr. Earl Trent has seen first hand how installing solar on his church has led to positive changes in his community. Here he discusses how the proposed Exelon takeover of Pepco would undermine the self-determination of the people of DC.
Anya Schoolman of DC Solar United Neighborhoods (DC SUN) explains how the proposed Exelon takeover of Pepco threatens community power and DC resident's self-determination in the evolving power system.
Dave Freeman has made a career of running major utilities, including the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He now lives in Washington DC and explains why the proposed Exelon takeover of Pepco is good for the corporations and bad for the people of the District of Columbia.
|
Judi Jones is a native Washingtonian and a community leader. She has done her research, and she explains here how the proposed Exelon takeover of Pepco is a bad deal for DC.
Absolom "Ab" Jordan has been working for 30 years to make sure that DC electricity system serves the interests of the DC community. Here he explains why the Exelon takeover of Pepco is a bad thing for DC.
Allison Archambault outlines how Exelon's takeover of Pepco fails to serve the public interest test on 'rates, reliability, renewables and local control'.
|
DISTRICT Neighborhoods oppose THE Exelon-Pepco merger
A majority of the city's Advisory Neighborhood Commissions - from every ward in the city - have passed resolutions opposing the merger. ANCs are the most grass-roots form of DC government, and not one ANC has voted to support the merger. In March, Council members Cheh, Silverman and Allen wrote the PSC to make their opposition public, saying the “District could be worse off, far worse off, if the deal is approved.” Council members Grosso, Nadeau, and Todd have since also registered their opposition.
ANCs across DC are standing up For Their Constituents
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) from across the District are rising in opposition to Exelon’s proposed purchase of Pepco, calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser to halt the deal. A majority of the city's 42 ANCs have now passed resolutions against the merger or publicly expressed concerns since public hearings began in mid-December. None of the District’s ANCs have expressed support for the proposed merger.
The District of Columbia’s ANCs are part of the DC government and consider a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods. ANCs are the body of government with the closest official ties to the people in a neighborhood. Read a recent ANC opposition letter from ANC 3B.
Councilmembers Cheh, Grosso, Silverman, Allen oppose the merger
Good governance happens when government officials stand up for what is right - or oppose what is wrong. Councilmembers Cheh, Grosso, Silverman, and Allen are standing up for the people of DC with strong and thoughtful opposition to the proposed Exelon-Pepco merger. Read the Councilmembers recent letter to the Public Service Commission.
DISTRICT RESIDENTS oppose THE Exelon-Pepco merger
The District's Public Service Commission (PSC) held four in-person hearings in which DC residents filled overflow rooms waiting to give testimony about why they opposed Exelon's takeover of Pepco. So far more than 1500 DC residents have written to oppose the merger, and the PSC is continuing to receive public comments online. Below you will find some of the testimony that has been submitted to the PSC.
|
Jim Schulman, Chesapeake Sustainable Business Council:
"This is not just a matter of a change of address. It represents a potential shift of decision-making power, employment, and investment to people and new shareholders that have no direct relationship with the Mid-Atlantic or its people. This should be of the utmost concern to the PSC." Read more. |
Kesh Ladduwahetty, DC for Democracy:
"We believe clean, renewable community-owned energy, especially solar, offers the greatest benefits to the people of Washington, DC in the form of lower energy prices, green jobs, a more resilient economy and better health for people and the planet. Pepco, as it is currently structured, is more consistent with this vision." Read more. |
|
Basav Sen, Green Neighbors DC:
"Exelon’s lobbying agenda, which we can reasonably expect them to continue in Washington DC, will have a profound negative impact on one of our key objectives as a grassroots neighborhood organization, which is to maximize the conversion of households in our neighborhood, including low and moderate income households, to clean energy." Read more. |
Allison Archambault, DC resident:
"DC deserves something better than Exelon. This town should be leading the way on building clean, affordable, reliable energy systems that are good for residents, good for local businesses, and good for the future of the world. Exelon will stand in the way of that progress." Read more. |
|
Ruth Caplan, DC resident:
"If Exelon is allowed to merge with Pepco, it will be the largest electric utility in the nation. Monopoly control with its stranglehold on ratepayers and policymakers is not in the interest of ratepayers, taxpayers or the District government. "To achieve Sustainable DC goals in any meaningful way, we must have more direct control over our energy future. This will be impossible with monopoly control by Exelon. " Read more. |
Steve Waller, DC resident:
"President Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, spent much of his time in office ‘busting trusts’. Exelon, if it acquires Pepco, is a trust. This is not a lesson we need to learn again. "Economy of scale is false if we lose quality and integrity. Exelon’s record as a lobbyist is not flattering, either. And we in DC do not need to accept the liability for Exelon’s portfolio of nuclear 'dinosaur' reactors." Read more. |
|
Patrick Bahn, DC resident:
"It has been my observation backed up by serious study of data that the Pepco merger has all the hallmarks of being a poor outcome for the customers, shareholders and stakeholders of Pepco." Read more. |
Andrea Rosen, DC resident:
"The future of a habitable planet depends on a rapid and seismic shift away from Exelon’s centralized energy model, reliant on aging, dangerous nuclear power reactors, as well as allied coal and gas-fired electricity plants, toward community-generated power from renewable sources." Read more. |
|
Marchant Wentworth, DC resident:
"I strongly urge the members of this commission to reject the proposed merger agreement because it will pose excessive risk to the ratepayers of the District of Columbia." Read more. |
Sekou Biddle, former at-large member of the DC Council:
"The merger does not appear to promise significant benefits to District consumers, but does indeed present the possibility of short, medium and long-term losses for the District." Read more. |
Julie Hantman, DC resident and field organizer for Moms Clean Air Force:
"Washington, DC enjoys a national reputation as an innovator in sustainability, renewables and energy efficiency. Yet the proposed merger threatens that reputation and threatens DC’s autonomy to cultivate local renewable resources in particular." Read more.
"Washington, DC enjoys a national reputation as an innovator in sustainability, renewables and energy efficiency. Yet the proposed merger threatens that reputation and threatens DC’s autonomy to cultivate local renewable resources in particular." Read more.
