ComEd 2008 Annual Report Download - page 7
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Please find page 7 of the 2008 ComEd annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.OurpowermarketingteamagainmadethemostofGeneration’soutstandingperformance.Thebenefit
ofahardheadedapproachtoriskmanagementhasneverbeenmoreevident.PowerTeam’shedging
effortswereinstrumentalinsecuringourearningsandcashflowinthismostvolatileofyears.Weowe
muchtoIanMcLean,KenCornew,JoeGlaceandtheirexperiencedteamfortheirconservativestewardship.
Ourdeliverycompanieskeptthelightsonandthegasflowing.ThedeathofComEd’sAlexCollazoafter
anundergroundcontactaccidentremindsushowdangerousthisworkisandtheimportanceofsafety
forouremployeesandcustomers.Whileouroutagefrequencyandcustomersatisfactionstatistics
improved,outagedurationperformancewaslessimpressive,inpartbecauseofadifficultsummer
stormseason.InJune,PECOfacedseveraldaysofextraordinaryheatandhumiditythatresultedinthe
fifthhighestelectricdemandinthecompany’shistory.Thisstretchwasimmediatelyfollowedbyaviolent
stormresultinginoutagesaffectingmorethan150,000customers.ThankstoDenisO’Brien’sleadership
andtheeffortsofhundredsofcrews,over82,000customerswererestoredwithin10hours.Similarly,
inAugust,ComEdexperiencedthesecondlargeststormofthepast10years.Highwinds,morethan
85,000lightningstrikesandnumeroustornadoesresultedin520,000customerslosingpower.Yet
despitetheseverityofthestorm,ComEdteamsrestored87percentofcustomerswithin24hours,and
98percentwithin48hours.FrankClark,BarryMitchellandmanydedicatedemployeeswholabored
aroundtheclockdeserveenormouscredit.
Ourdeliverycompaniesalsomadesteadyfinancialprogress.PECOsecuredafairoutcomeinitsfirst
gasdeliveryratecasesince1988.ThePennsylvaniaPublicUtilitiesCommissionunanimouslyapproved
anannualrateincreaseof$77millionthatwillhelpfundbothassistancetolow-incomeconsumers
and$280millionofsysteminvestmentsoverthenextfiveyears.InSeptember,theIllinoisCommerce
CommissionawardedComEda$274millionrevenueincreaseforelectricdeliveryservice.Therulingwill
enableComEdtocontinuetounderwriteinfrastructureimprovementsandadvanceeffortstodevelop
SmartGridtechnologies.AnnePramaggioreandherteamhavebegunthelongprocessofrestoring
ComEdtofinancialhealth.
Ourfinancegroup,undertheleadershipofIanMcLeanandMattHilzinger,againdeliveredthefinancial
disciplineyouhavecometoexpect.Followingonour$1.25billionsharerepurchaseinFebruaryof2007,
weexecuteda$500millionsharerepurchaseinaccordancewithourValueReturnpolicy.Wealso
increasedourdividendto$2.10annualized,reinforcingourbeliefinthesustainabilityofourfinancial
andoperatingperformance.Weissuedorrefinancedmorethan$2.2billionoflong-termdebtatvery
attractiverates.Ourdecisionin2006tosecurecreditfacilitiesofmorethan$7billionprovedinvaluable
inayearmarkedbyrecordcommoditypricesandthefailuresandnear-failuresofnumerouslenders
andcounterparties.
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