D.C Mayor Says She Can No Longer Support Exelon-Pepco Deal

WASHINGTON (AP) -- District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser says she can no longer support a proposed $6.8 billion merger of Pepco and Exelon.

The Washington Post reports (http://wapo.st/1oWtosf ) Bowser's administration negotiated for the companies to pay the District $78 million for support for the merger from District, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and federal regulators. That would have cushioned District residents from rate increases for four years. But District regulators rejected the plan, saying it wasn't in the public interest and would exacerbate an imbalance in which federal taxpayers and businesses subsidize residential rates.

The D.C. Public Service Commission said it would reconsider the deal under new terms that removed any guarantee to hold down residential rates. Bowser said in a statement Tuesday that the new terms "gut" protections against residential rate increases.
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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

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