Exelon Corp. plans to split into two publicly traded companies, one for its regulated electric and gas utilities like ComEd and the other for its power generation assets like its nuclear power plants.
The announcement was made Wednesday as the Chicago-based company announced fourth-quarter earnings of $360 million, beating Wall Street estimates.
Exelon said separating the two companies will create the nation’s largest fully regulated transmission and distribution utility company. ComEd will remain part of the electricity and natural gas business that has operations in five states and more than 10 million customers. During the next four years, that company will invest $27 billion to continue modernizing the grid, Exelon said.
The nuclear, wind, solar, natural gas and hydroelectric assets will be spun off into a new company. Shareholders of Exelon Corp. will keep their Exelon stock and receive shares in the new company.
Exelon CEO Chris Crane and the existing management team will continue to lead the company until the separation is complete, which the company said should be in 2022\u2032s first quarter. Additional details about senior management and company names will be released in coming months, Exelon said.
“Our industry is changing at a rapid pace and our customers expect us to continuously innovate to stay ahead of growing demand for clean energy, evolving business conditions and changing technology,” Crane said in a news release. “Now is the right time to take this step to best serve our customers, employees, community partners and shareholders. These are two strong, distinct businesses that will benefit from the strategic flexibility to focus on their unique customer, market and community priorities.”
The spinoff will require the approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the New York Public Service Commission.
