BALTIMORE, April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Constellation Energy
(NYSE: CEG) today released the following statement regarding the Maryland
Legislature's approval of legislation that will, upon Governor O'Malley's
signature, finalize a pending settlement agreement between the company and
the State of Maryland.
"Bringing closure to prior political and regulatory disputes in
Maryland is important for our company. The settlement and a return to
regulatory normalcy put Constellation Energy in a stronger position to
invest in key strategic initiatives.
"This comprehensive agreement, and the enabling legislation approved by
the Legislature, is the result of extensive negotiations between our
company and Maryland's political and regulatory leadership. It will deliver
meaningful benefits to Baltimore Gas and Electric's (BGE's) residential
electric customers and shift the focus of policy deliberations from the
past to the future. As a result, today, Maryland is in a stronger position
to attract the investments needed to grow the state's economy and secure
the new power generation needed to ensure an efficient and reliable energy
future."
Settlement highlights include:
-- Constellation Energy will contribute $187 million in the form of a one-
time $170 rate credit for BGE's residential electric customers.
-- BGE customers will be relieved of the potential future liability for
decommissioning Constellation Energy's Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 and Unit
2, scheduled to occur no earlier than 2034 and 2036, respectively.
-- Constellation Energy will, through 2016, continue to collect $18.7
million per year in nuclear decommissioning costs for Calvert Cliffs
and rebate this amount to residential customers as previously
authorized by Senate Bill 1, approved in 2006.
-- Reaffirmation of the validity of agreements signed with BGE,
Constellation Energy's regulated utility, and other parties related to
Maryland's 1999 restructuring law.
-- Amendments to Maryland law governing investments in companies that own
and operate regulated utilities. An investor will now be permitted to
acquire up to 20 percent of the voting securities of a company such as
Constellation Energy without prior PSC approval.
-- BGE will resume collection of the residential return portion of the
Provider of Last Resort revenue - eliminated at the beginning of 2007
under Senate Bill 1 - from June 1, 2008, through May 31, 2010.
Additionally, the utility will implement revised depreciation accruals.
Constellation Energy (http://www.constellation.com), a FORTUNE 125
company with 2007 revenues of $21 billion, is the nation's largest
competitive supplier of electricity to large commercial and industrial
customers and the nation's largest wholesale power seller. Constellation
Energy also manages fuels and energy services on behalf of energy-intensive
industries and utilities. It owns a diversified fleet of 78 generating
units located throughout the United States, totaling approximately 8,700
megawatts of generating capacity. The company delivers electricity and
natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its
regulated utility in Central Maryland.
SOURCE Constellation Energy
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Investors, Kevin Hadlock, +1-410-470-3647, or Janet Mosher,
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