{{Short description|Energy company}} {{Infobox company | name = PECO Energy | logo = PECO logo.png | logo_size = 220px | image = PECO Energy Company (53585709902).jpg | image_caption = PECO headquarters in Philadelphia | type = [[Subsidiary]] | founded = {{start date and age|1881}} | hq_location = [[PECO Building]]<br>[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], U.S. | parent = [[Exelon]] | website = {{URL|http://peco.com/}} }}
'''PECO''', formerly the '''Philadelphia Electric Company''', is an energy company founded in 1881 and incorporated in 1929.<ref name=Wainwright>{{cite book |last1=Wainwright |first1=Nicholas B. |title=History of the Philadelphia Electric Company, 1881-1961 |date=1961 |url=https://archive.org/details/philadelphiaelec0000unse| url-access=registration |page=213|publisher=Philadelphia }}</ref> It became part of [[Exelon|Exelon Corporation]] in 2000 when it merged with [[Commonwealth Edison]]'s holding company [[Unicom Corp]].
The company has approximately 2,300 employees; its [[Call centre|call center]] and [[field craft]] personnel are members of [[IBEW]] Local 614. PECO serves about 1.6 million electric and over 511,000 [[natural gas]] customers; it is the largest combination utility in [[Pennsylvania]], and has a franchise utility service area of {{convert|2100|mi2|km2|sigfig=2}} with a population of 3.8 million people.
==Electricity and natural gas== PECO operates in southeastern [[Pennsylvania]] and provides electricity to about 1.6 million customers and natural gas to over 511,000 customers. The company's electric service area covers all of the city of [[Philadelphia]] and [[Delaware County, Pennsylvania|Delaware County]]; most of [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Bucks]], [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester]], and [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery]] counties; and the southeastern corner of [[York County, Pennsylvania|York County]]. The company's natural gas service area covers all of Delaware County; most of Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery counties; and a small portion of eastern [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.peco.com/AboutUs/Pages/CompanyInformation.aspx| title=Company Information| website=PECO Energy Company| access-date=May 24, 2023}}</ref>
PECO formerly provided electricity to 35,000 customers in portions of [[Cecil County, Maryland|Cecil]] and [[Harford County, Maryland|Harford]] counties in [[Maryland]] through subsidiary '''Conowingo Power Company'''.<ref>{{cite press release| title=PECO Energy To Sell Conowingo Power Company To Delmarva Power and Light Company| publisher=PECO Energy| via=PRNewswire| date=May 25, 1994| url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/PECO+ENERGY+TO+SELL+CONOWINGO+POWER+COMPANY+TO+DELMARVA+POWER+AND...-a015269843| access-date=May 24, 2023| archive-date=August 21, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821084741/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/PECO+ENERGY+TO+SELL+CONOWINGO+POWER+COMPANY+TO+DELMARVA+POWER+AND...-a015269843| url-status=dead}}</ref> On June 19, 1995, [[Delmarva Power]] acquired the Conowingo Power Company service area from PECO.<ref>{{cite web| title=Allegheny Generating Company, et al.'; Electric Rate and Corporate Regulation Filings| work=[[Federal Register]]| volume=60| number=136| date=July 17, 1995| url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1995-07-17/html/95-17449.htm| access-date=May 24, 2023}}</ref>
PECO's distribution line voltages are 2,400/4,160 volts wye and 7,620/13,200 volts wye. Subtransmission voltages are 34,500 volts and 69,000 volts. Transmission line voltages are 138,000 volts, 230,000 volts and 500,000 volts. The company is a member of the PJM Interconnection.
{{As of|2012}} PECO's peak electric load occurred on July 22, 2011 and was 8,983 megawatts (MWs) and its highest peak load in the winter season occurred on December 20, 2004 and was 6,838 MW.<ref name="SEC10K">{{cite report| title=Exelon Corporation Form 10-K| date=December 31, 2012| page=21| institution=United States Securities and Exchange Commission| url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/9466/000119312513069749/d474199d10k.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308055312/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/9466/000119312513069749/d474199d10k.htm| archive-date=March 8, 2013| url-status=live}}</ref> Residential electric usage makes up about 35 percent of PECO's total electric delivery and half of the annual electric revenue.
PECO's electric sales tend to peak in the summer and winter seasons, driven by [[air conditioning]] and heating load respectively when extreme temperatures create greater demand. The company's natural gas sales are generally higher during the winter periods when cold temperatures create demand for heating. The company's highest gas sales occurred on January 17, 2000 and was {{convert|718|e6ft3|e6m3|abbr=off|lk=on}} of gas.<ref name="SEC10K"/> Gas usage by residential customers is approximately half of PECO's total deliveries.
The PECO transition period for the competitive electric generation market ended on December 31, 2010, when caps on retail rates and competitive transition charges on customer bills ended. PECO electric rates had been capped for 12 years. Since 2011, PECO has purchased its wholesale electricity from competitive market sources, with retail customers charged the actual costs of procurement.
Historically, according to Exelon's SEC Form 10-K for the year 2012, PECO's power supply consisted of 53% nuclear energy, 12% fossils and renewables, and 35% purchased power.<ref name="SEC10K"/>
==Facilities and infrastructure== [[File:Joe Biden, Ernest Moniz and Michael Nutter visit PECO Energy Company.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Secretary of Energy [[Ernest Moniz]], Mayor [[Michael Nutter]], and Vice President [[Joe Biden]] visiting PECO's headquarters in 2015]] PECO owns, maintains, and operates: *{{convert|1067|mi|km|sigfig=3}} of higher-voltage [[transmission line]]s *{{convert|15260|mi2|km2|sigfig=3}} of underground electrical distribution cable *{{convert|12933|mi|km|sigfig=4}} of aerial electrical distribution lines *{{convert|12157|mi|km|sigfig=4}} of natural gas transmission, distribution and service piplines.
PECO has a [[liquefied natural gas]] storage facility in [[West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania|West Conshohocken, PA]]. with capacity of {{convert|1200000000|ft3|m3|sigfig=2}} and a propane-air plant in [[Chester, Pennsylvania|Chester, PA]]. with storage capacity of {{convert|1980000|USgal|m3|sigfig=2}}. The company also owns 29 natural gas [[city gate]] stations at locations that link with various interstate pipelines.
The [[Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company]] was constructed in 1916 and listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2007.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
PECO supplies legacy [[two-phase electric power]]<ref name="Tarrif2022">{{cite report| title=Electric Service Tariff| date=May 27, 2022| page=8| publisher=PECO Energy Company| url=https://www.peco.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Current%20Elec%20tariff%20eff%20June%201%2c%202022.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623043205/https://www.peco.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Current%20Elec%20tariff%20eff%20June%201%2C%202022.pdf| archive-date=June 23, 2022| url-status=live}}</ref> to sections of Philadelphia where infrastructure upgrades are impracticable. Philadelphia is one of only two cities with in-service two-phase infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Tale Of Two Phases And Tech Inertia |url=https://hackaday.com/2018/03/15/a-tale-of-two-phases-and-tech-inertia/ |website=Hackaday |date=15 March 2018 |access-date=23 June 2022}}</ref>
==Financials== As a fully regulated transmission and distribution utility, PECO operates as a subsidiary of the [[Exelon|Exelon Corporation]]. PECO's utility business is [[Capital intensity|capital intensive]] and requires ongoing investments in its electric and gas delivery systems to maintain infrastructure capacity and reliability for its customer base.<ref name="Exelon10K2024">{{Cite web |title=Exelon Corporation Form 10-K (2024) |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1109357/000110935725000078/exc-20241231ars.pdf |website=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |date=December 31, 2024 |access-date=31 May 2026 |format=PDF}}</ref>
Historically, prior to the end of its rate caps in 2010, PECO reported $5.5 billion in revenue and total assets valued at $9.8 billion in 2008. Current financial and operational metrics for PECO are now consolidated within Exelon's annual SEC Form 10-K filings.<ref name="Exelon10K2024"/>
==Controversies== In the 1970s through the 1980s, community activist pressure contributed to the delayed opening of nuclear power plants at PECO's [[Limerick Generating Station]] and the temporary cancellation of the planned Limerick 2 nuclear power plant, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web| title=U.S. Anti-nuclear activists partially block establishment of nuclear power plant in Limerick, PA, 1977-82| website=Global Nonviolent Action Database| access-date=May 24, 2023| url=https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/us-anti-nuclear-activists-partially-block-establishment-nuclear-power-plant-limerick-pa-1977}}</ref> Both Limerick 1 and Limerick 2 were built and producing power by 1990.
In 2015, the Earth Quaker Action Team began protesting PECO to demand that it expand the amount of solar energy that it buys, and to source solar power from North Philadelphia in order to create jobs.<ref>{{cite news| title=Protesters demand Peco support solar development in N. Phila.| newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]| date=March 23, 2016| first=Andrew| last=Maykuth| url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/energy/20160324_Protesters_demand_that_Peco_support_solar_development_in_N__Philadelphia.html| url-access=subscription}}</ref> PECO purchases enough solar energy to power 2,000 residential households. Twice each year, in March and September, it submits those plans to the Pennsylvania's state regulators for approval. The utility runs the bidding process through a third party for energy suppliers and wholesalers. PECO's sister company, Constellation, is the third largest developer in Pennsylvania of solar installations for commercial, industrial, government and customers, and its parent company, Exelon, has a portfolio of wind-generating power projects across the country.<ref>{{cite news| title=Clergy, activists demand more clean energy from PECO| first=Wilford| last=Shamlin III| newspaper=[[Philadelphia Tribune]]| date=March 24, 2016| url=http://www.phillytrib.com/news/clergy-activists-demand-more-clean-energy-from-peco/article_619b5371-eb06-5e91-8fb6-00632a914901.html| access-date=May 24, 2023}}</ref> PECO currently generates 0.14% of its energy portfolio from solar energy,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.puc.state.pa.us/electric/pdf/AEPS/AEPS_Ann_Rpt_2014.pdf| title=2014 Annual Report, Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act of 2004| website=Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission| access-date=May 24, 2023}}</ref> but, according to the environmental activists group Earth Quaker Action Team, “...could generate up to 20% of their portfolio from solar.” Sourcing solar energy from rooftop solar panels “...would generate 70 jobs...” or “...could generate up to 4000 new jobs in Philadelphia.”<ref>{{cite web| url=https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/03/24/quaker-group-says-north-philly-solar-panels-could-meet-peco-power-target-this-year/| title=Quaker group says North Philly solar panels could meet PECO power target this year| website=StateImpact Pennsylvania| date=24 March 2016| access-date=2016-04-07| df=mdy}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== *{{cite book| last=Wainwright| first=Nicholas B.| title=History of the Philadelphia Electric Company 1881-1961| publisher=Philadelphia Electric Company| year=1961}}
==External links== {{Commons}} *{{Official website|peco.com}} *[[Historic American Engineering Record]] (HAER) documentation, filed under Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA, unless otherwise noted: **{{HAER |survey=PA-574 |id=pa3815 |title=Philadelphia Electric Company, Richmond Power Station, 4101 North Delaware Avenue |photos=71 |color=1 |data=7 |cap=5 |link=no}} **{{HAER |survey=PA-656 |id=pa4191 |title=Philadelphia Electric Company, Schuylkill Station, 2600–2798 Christian Street |photos=24 |data=6 |cap=2 |link=no}} **{{HAER |survey=PA-657 |id=pa4192 |title=Philadelphia Electric Company, Delaware Station, 1305–1396 Beach Street |photos=33 |data=9 |cap=2 |link=no}} **{{HAER |survey=PA-658 |id=pa4193 |title=Philadelphia Electric Company, Chestnut Hill Substation, 7735 Germantown Avenue |photos=3 |data=4 |cap=1 |link=no}} **{{HAER |survey=PA-659 |id=pa4194 |title=Philadelphia Electric Company, Hunting Park Substation, 2600 West Hunting Park Avenue |photos=3 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}} **{{HAER |survey=PA-660 |id=pa4195 |title=Philadelphia Electric Company, Somerset Substation, 2800 Trenton Avenue |photos=16 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}} **{{HAER |survey=PA-661 |id=pa4196 |title=Philadelphia Electric Company, Susquehanna Substation, 219 West Susquehanna Avenue |photos=6 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}} **{{HAER |survey=PA-662 |id=pa4197 |title=Philadelphia Electric Company, North Broad Street Office, 2309–2313 North Broad Street |photos=1 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}} **{{HAER |survey=PA-663 |id=pa4198 |title=Delaware County Electric Company, Lamokin Substation, 1329 West 7th Street, Chester, Delaware County, PA |photos=14 |data=3 |cap=1 |link=no}}
{{Philadelphia Corporations}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Exelon]] [[Category:Companies based in Philadelphia]] [[Category:Electric power companies of the United States]] [[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Philadelphia]] [[Category:Natural gas companies of the United States]] [[Category:2000 mergers and acquisitions]] [[Category:Energy companies established in 1881]] [[Category:1881 establishments in Pennsylvania]] [[Category: Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange]]