Rachel Sadon
Photo by Justin Hoffman
A dedicated group of opponents to the Pepco-Exelon merger won a surprising victory yesterday afternoon when the Government Services Administration filed a brief urging federal regulators to reject the deal.
Although the GSA recently indicated it would support the deal, after a year of questioning it, their attorneys filed a brief saying the merger, as is, should be rejected. They cited “disparate treatment” of residential ratepayers and commercial ratepayers—including the federal government.
Anti-merger activists pointed to the timing of the Public Service Commission’s hearings as the cause for the late opposition. “It is noteworthy that the GSA didn’t participate in recent hearings because the PSC set a schedule that was too rapid. That highlights another major problem: The PSC has put the settlement on such a fast track that there isn’t adequate time for it to be vetted,” said David Arkush, managing director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program. “Even the GSA—by far the best-resourced party that opposes the deal—believed it lacked sufficient time to prepare for hearings at the fast-tracked pace that the utilities sought and the PSC granted.”
Pepco and Exelon released a joint statement saying “all customers, including the GSA, will benefit from merger commitments now before the Public Service Commission.”
The GSA’s brief also comes on the heels of a damaging report from WAMU, which revealed that Exelon hired the then-head of FreshPAC, Earl “Chico” Horton, to lobby the administration—despite the fact that he had no prior lobbying experience. Several days after his hiring, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration announced they would work with the company on a settlement.
“I have never seen such a blatant appearance of political corruption in my entire career as a consumer and environmental advocate,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, in a statement. “The ‘P’ in FreshPAC stands for political. Exelon brazenly hired the chairman of the Mayor’s own political action committee to pressure the Mayor to knuckle under to a bad deal for consumers and the environment. This is absolutely outrageous.” Activists have been trying to make direct links from the now-defunct PAC to Bowser’s negotiations with Exelon for months, including pointing to a $25 million with Pepco for naming rights related to the D.C. United stadium.
The administration has denied allegations of pay-to-play politics and stood by its claims that they negotiated a good deal for the city. “An administrative official with knowledge of the negotiations says lobbyists weren’t at the table during talks, but it’s impossible to verify because the settlement was negotiated in secret,” WAMU reported.
Pepco and Exelon have been working to show how “corporate control” would benefit ratepayers, hosting a town hall meeting with a large buffet last week.
