Lasting Affordability Requires Systems-Level Change

By: Colette D. Honorable, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

Rising energy costs are top of mind for the teams at Exelon who are working to meet growing demand while also addressing energy costs for families and small businesses.

And here’s what we know: As we transition to a clean energy future, we will need smarter, faster, and more equitable energy policy if we’re going to protect customers – particularly low- and moderate-income families – from the rising costs of energy.

At Exelon, we’re doing our part. As one of the largest purely transmission and distribution utility companies in the country – serving more than 10.7 million customers – we have a responsibility to ensure customers have the affordable energy they depend on. This summer we launched a $50 million Customer Relief Fund, which provided immediate, temporary help to families over the summer months. But lasting affordability requires systems-level change.

That’s why Exelon is advocating for market reforms and policies that:

• Accelerate clean energy deployment to ensure new supply can meet growing demand.
• Modernize our grid to deliver reliable, affordable power efficiently.
• Streamline permitting and interconnection processes to reduce bottlenecks that drive up costs.
• Support low-income energy programs, such as LIHEAP, community solar programs, weatherization services, and targeted energy efficiency efforts.
• Advocate to bring critically needed new energy supply sources on line to address affordability and reliability, particularly new energy sources that are fully-regulated by state utility commissions.

Outdated policies and underinvestment in energy supply infrastructure have created an imbalance between demand and supply. Meanwhile, accountability gaps in planning energy generation have slowed the pace of solutions. We’re pushing for change – for faster, coordinated responses from federal, state and regional entities that reflect the urgency of this moment.

We’re also committed to ensuring that no one is left behind in the energy transition by making sure that the benefits of the clean energy transformation aren’t limited to a few, but accessible to all. That includes advocating for rate designs and regulatory frameworks that protect vulnerable customers from undue burden, while enabling much-needed innovation and investment in the grid. It’s a both-and proposition – and the only way this works.

And we’re doing this in partnership. Across our service areas, we are working with elected officials, regulatory agencies and community organizations to create energy systems that are not only more sustainable, but more just.

As leaders in the industry, Exelon is proud to lead the energy transformation and be a voice for reform. And we’re committed to affordability not just as a corporate value, but as a social imperative.

Yes, our top priority is always reliable and resilient service. But we cannot afford to leave anyone behind.

For us, that takes many shapes as we serve customers in rural, urban, landlocked and coastal communities. Each jurisdiction is different and has its own objectives set by policymakers.

Today, policymakers must prioritize bringing new energy resources to the grid and creating rate structures that protect our customers from bearing the cost burden that often comes with new, large-scale technologies. And our collective work across the industry will only be successful if we place our focus on energy security and customer affordability.

Exelon is proud to be part of the solution, collaborating with policymakers and industry stakeholders to ensure that our energy future is sustainable, reliable – and affordable.

Clean and affordable energy is our promise. With policy partners alongside us, it’s one we’ll be able to keep.