Photo by Justin Hoffman

After several days of rumors that Mayor Muriel Bowser had reached a settlement to support the proposed merger of Pepco and Exelon, she made the big announcement yesterday.

A quick reminder: Under the proposed merger, Chicago-based Exelon would acquire Pepco in a $6.4 billion deal. Exelon, which is the largest owner of nuclear power plants in the U.S., would be paying $2.5 billion more than the net book value of Pepco’s assets, analysts said. But the deal needed to win approval from regulators in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, D.C., the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the U.S. Department of Justice. While the others gave the okay, the D.C. Public Service Commission rejected the proposed merger in August, saying that “it is not in the best interest of the people of the District of Columbia.”

Bowser kept negotiating, though, and came up with a settlement that her administration says increases the deal’s concessions from $14 million to $78 million. “We kept the conversations with Pepco and Exelon alive, because we knew we had to do better for the District,” the mayor said. “My team negotiated a deal that puts District residents and ratepayers first—by delivering a public utility that is cost-effective, dependable and environmentally sound.”

But environmental activists and community groups are saying that the settlement isn’t actually all that much different than what was already rejected and the concessions that Maryland already won. “The public needs to know that this deal is not better in any significant way than the deal that was already rejected by the Public Service Commission,” DC SUN’s executive director Anya Schoolman said during a press call just before the announcement.

Here are the arguments both sides made in the wake of the announcement.

It is good for renewable energy:

“This agreement contains improved benefits with regard to sustainable, renewable energy production as well as enforcement and oversight mechanisms to ensure that Pepco and Exelon live up to their end of the bargain.” — Attorney General Karl A. Racine

It is bad for renewable energy:

“It will also harm the ability of D.C. residents to develop their own clean, cost-effective energy. The token renewable energy provisions in the Exelon settlement are a smokescreen that will allow the company to dismantle the progress the District has made to develop renewable energy.” — Anya Schoolman, President of DC SUN

“Their whole reason for being is to have a 20th century model of electricity—a big huge generating company, right, selling as much as they can, at the highest price they can. It’s completely at odds with what we want to do. We want to move to renewables. We want to move to progressive policies. We want to buy energy cheaply. — Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh

The changes represent a win for D.C. ratepayers:

“The agreement delivers on Mayor Bowser’s commitment to improve affordability, reliability, and sustainability for ratepayers in the District.” — Federal City Council

“Having achieved significant, immediate, tangible monetary benefits for our residents – and keeping in mind that the public will again have an opportunity to weigh in with the Public Service Commission on this revised merger plan – the Office of the Attorney General is of the view that the settlement agreement is in the public interest.” — Attorney General Karl A. Racine

“The @Exelon,@PepcoConnect merger puts District residents, ratepayers first.” — Rashad Young, city administrator of Washington, D.C.

“The applicants made major concessions important to ratepayers and to OPC, including immediate rate relief, firm and trackable reliability commitments, low-income consumer protections and jobs.” — Sandra Mattavous-Frye

The changes to the rejected deal are superficial:

“The backroom cash deal Exelon has offered to Bowser provides only illusory benefits and does nothing to correct the structural harm that will come by giving Exelon monopoly control over DC ratepayers.” — Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network

“The mayor is touting this settlement as a remedy to the proposal that the PSC rejected for failing to be in the public interest. It is not a remedy. The new settlement terms are only modest, superficial changes that fall far short of the PSC’s mandate that the merger serve the public interest.” — Allison Fisher, outreach director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program

The new deal is a continuation of the Public Service Commission process:

“We heard the Public Service Commission’s concerns loud and clear, and this new merger proposal presents greater benefits to the District,” — Chris Crane, Exelon’s president and CEO

The open, accessible process was corrupted:

“After more than a year of public process and deliberation, the PSC unanimously voted to reject Exelon’s proposed takeover of Pepco. This settlement betrays that process, does little to mitigate the inherent problems the takeover poses to ratepayers and the District’s clean energy future, and, if approved, will serve as D.C.’s first taste of how Exelon wields its money and influence to get what it wants.” — Allison Fisher, outreach director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program

The proposed merger now goes back to the D.C. Public Service Commission to decide.