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Released February 18, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC) (Chicago, Illinois) plans to increase its four-year capital spending program 10%, to $38 billion. The spending boost continues a lengthy period of ever-rising capital outlays for Exelon, which owns electric and gas distribution utilities in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and Washington, D.C. that collectively serve more than 10.7 million customers.
Exelon's four-year capital spending budget has risen about 42%, or $11.3 billion, since its 2021-2024 program. For more on Exelon 2023-2026 capital program, see February 15, 2023, article - Exelon Boosts Earnings, Lays Out $31.3 Billion Capital Plan for 2023-2026.
Click on the image at right to see Exelon's historical and projected four-year capital spending programs since 2021.
In its February 12 quarterly earnings call, Exelon officials said the factors driving increased capital expenditures (capex) include: connecting new businesses and capacity expansion in its various service areas; finishing several high-voltage transmission projects; and making various investments to improve electric reliability, including cable rebuilds, pole replacements and reconductoring.
Several years ago, Exelon sold its generating assets; its operating utilities now focus on electric and gas transmission & distribution (T&D) and energy services.
Industrial Info is tracking about 12 capital projects planned by various Exelon operating utilities valued at approximately $529 million. Most of these investments are slated to be made in transmission and distribution (T&D) businesses of various Exelon operating utilities, though there is a plan to build one battery energy storage system (BESS) in Washington, D.C. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a list of Exelon's operating utilities capital project reports.
Like many other electric utilities, Exelon's operating utilities are seeing a surge in planned data centers in their service areas. Citing announcements from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) and other data center operators, Exelon officials told investors that an estimated 16 gigawatts (GW) of data center load is planned for its various operating utilities, up from 6 GW at yearend 2023 and 1 GW at the end of 2022. Estimated data center load growth is expected to ramp up over a period of 10 years, they added.
Exelon said it earned $647 million on $5.5 billion of revenue for the just-completed quarter, down from $717 million in profits on $5.4 billion of revenue for the comparable year-earlier quarter. For the full year, the utility holding company earned $2.5 billion on $23 billion of sales in 2024, compared to profits of $2.3 billion on sales of $21.7 billion in 2023.
Below is a summary of Exelon's operating utilities' planned T&D capex investments for 2025-2028.
Commonwealth Edison
Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) serves over 4 million customers across Northern Illinois. The utility plans to make capital investments in its electricity business totaling about $13.9 billion over the 2025-2028 period. Most of this planned investment will be made in the electric distribution unit, though significant amounts also are planned to go to the utility's electric transmission business unit.
Average annual capex of about $3.45 billion over the next four years is about $1.2 billion per year more than the utility's actual 2024 capital outlays.
PECO
PECO (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) serves over 1.6 million electric and 515,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. The combination utility plans to make capital investments totaling about $7.8 billion over the next four years. This represents an annual increase of about $250 million over 2024's actual capex spending.
Most of the planned investments will go to the utility's electricity business, though about $375 million per year is earmarked for the gas utility over the 2025-2028 period.
BG&E
BGE (Baltimore, Maryland), formerly known as Baltimore Gas & Electric, is Maryland's largest electricity provider with more than 1.2 million residential electric customers. BGE also provides natural gas to about 690,000 customers in and around Baltimore.
Capex outlays totaling about $7.8 billion are planned for the next four years. As with Exelon's other combination utilities, the electricity side of the business is expected to garner the lion's share ($5.7 billion) of capital investment: about $2.1 billion will be invested in BGE's gas business.
Pepco
Serving about 900,000 customers in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, Pepco expects to make capital investments totaling about $8.5 billion over the 2025-2028 period.
That operating utility plans to invest approximately $4 billion in its T&D system. Annual spending closely mirrors what the utility invested in 2024.
Atlantic City Electric
Atlantic City Electric (ACE) (Mays Landing, New Jersey), which serves about 560,000 customers in Southern New Jersey, plans to make approximately $2 billion of T & D capital investments. Annual average planned spending for 2025-2028 is about $100 million per year higher than what the utility invested in 2024.
Delmarva Power & Light
This combination utility provides electricity to 532,000 customers in Delaware and Maryland and natural gas to 138,000 customers in northern Delaware.
Delmarva Power & Light (DPL) (Newark, Delaware) plans to invest approximately $2.5 billion over the next four years. Almost all of that investment is scheduled to go to DPL's T&D business; only about $225 million is expected to go to its gas business.
"It is truly amazing how far and fast electric utilities' planned spending is rising to accommodate current and future data centers," commented Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Electric Power Industry. "To say proposed data centers are popping up like mushrooms after a rainstorm would be an understatement. Utilities love the load curve of a data center, which operates 24/7/365, but first they need to make the hefty investments to power those energy-gobbling facilities."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Exelon's four-year capital spending budget has risen about 42%, or $11.3 billion, since its 2021-2024 program. For more on Exelon 2023-2026 capital program, see February 15, 2023, article - Exelon Boosts Earnings, Lays Out $31.3 Billion Capital Plan for 2023-2026.
In its February 12 quarterly earnings call, Exelon officials said the factors driving increased capital expenditures (capex) include: connecting new businesses and capacity expansion in its various service areas; finishing several high-voltage transmission projects; and making various investments to improve electric reliability, including cable rebuilds, pole replacements and reconductoring.
Several years ago, Exelon sold its generating assets; its operating utilities now focus on electric and gas transmission & distribution (T&D) and energy services.
Industrial Info is tracking about 12 capital projects planned by various Exelon operating utilities valued at approximately $529 million. Most of these investments are slated to be made in transmission and distribution (T&D) businesses of various Exelon operating utilities, though there is a plan to build one battery energy storage system (BESS) in Washington, D.C. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a list of Exelon's operating utilities capital project reports.
Like many other electric utilities, Exelon's operating utilities are seeing a surge in planned data centers in their service areas. Citing announcements from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington) and other data center operators, Exelon officials told investors that an estimated 16 gigawatts (GW) of data center load is planned for its various operating utilities, up from 6 GW at yearend 2023 and 1 GW at the end of 2022. Estimated data center load growth is expected to ramp up over a period of 10 years, they added.
Exelon said it earned $647 million on $5.5 billion of revenue for the just-completed quarter, down from $717 million in profits on $5.4 billion of revenue for the comparable year-earlier quarter. For the full year, the utility holding company earned $2.5 billion on $23 billion of sales in 2024, compared to profits of $2.3 billion on sales of $21.7 billion in 2023.
Below is a summary of Exelon's operating utilities' planned T&D capex investments for 2025-2028.
Commonwealth Edison
Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) serves over 4 million customers across Northern Illinois. The utility plans to make capital investments in its electricity business totaling about $13.9 billion over the 2025-2028 period. Most of this planned investment will be made in the electric distribution unit, though significant amounts also are planned to go to the utility's electric transmission business unit.
Average annual capex of about $3.45 billion over the next four years is about $1.2 billion per year more than the utility's actual 2024 capital outlays.
PECO
PECO (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) serves over 1.6 million electric and 515,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. The combination utility plans to make capital investments totaling about $7.8 billion over the next four years. This represents an annual increase of about $250 million over 2024's actual capex spending.
Most of the planned investments will go to the utility's electricity business, though about $375 million per year is earmarked for the gas utility over the 2025-2028 period.
BG&E
BGE (Baltimore, Maryland), formerly known as Baltimore Gas & Electric, is Maryland's largest electricity provider with more than 1.2 million residential electric customers. BGE also provides natural gas to about 690,000 customers in and around Baltimore.
Capex outlays totaling about $7.8 billion are planned for the next four years. As with Exelon's other combination utilities, the electricity side of the business is expected to garner the lion's share ($5.7 billion) of capital investment: about $2.1 billion will be invested in BGE's gas business.
Pepco
Serving about 900,000 customers in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, Pepco expects to make capital investments totaling about $8.5 billion over the 2025-2028 period.
That operating utility plans to invest approximately $4 billion in its T&D system. Annual spending closely mirrors what the utility invested in 2024.
Atlantic City Electric
Atlantic City Electric (ACE) (Mays Landing, New Jersey), which serves about 560,000 customers in Southern New Jersey, plans to make approximately $2 billion of T & D capital investments. Annual average planned spending for 2025-2028 is about $100 million per year higher than what the utility invested in 2024.
Delmarva Power & Light
This combination utility provides electricity to 532,000 customers in Delaware and Maryland and natural gas to 138,000 customers in northern Delaware.
Delmarva Power & Light (DPL) (Newark, Delaware) plans to invest approximately $2.5 billion over the next four years. Almost all of that investment is scheduled to go to DPL's T&D business; only about $225 million is expected to go to its gas business.
"It is truly amazing how far and fast electric utilities' planned spending is rising to accommodate current and future data centers," commented Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Electric Power Industry. "To say proposed data centers are popping up like mushrooms after a rainstorm would be an understatement. Utilities love the load curve of a data center, which operates 24/7/365, but first they need to make the hefty investments to power those energy-gobbling facilities."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
