Exelon 2013 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Exelon 2013 Summary Annual Report Leer to Our Shareholders
To begin with, we believe in a supply-driven recovery of power prices, and hold a
portfolio position that will enable us to capitalize on our views of market recovery and
earnings growth. Our earnings profile and balance sheet strength enable us to act on
growth and diversification opportunities when the time and price are right. We are
diligent in the identification and rigorous in the assessment of those opportunities.
We added 153 MW of new solar capacity in 2013 at the Antelope Valley Solar Ranch
in California, and have more than 500 MW of natural gas, contracted wind and solar
power and nuclear capacity uprates in the development pipeline. The utilities will
invest $15 billion over the next five years in smart meter technology, transmission
projects, gas infrastructure, and electric system improvement projects, providing
greater reliability and improved service for our customers and a stable return for
the company.
We continue to review our asset mix and work to optimize its value. We evaluate the
economic viability of each of our generating units on an ongoing basis and use that
assessment to identify ways to enhance their value. Our nuclear plants had their
best generating year ever, but despite that performance, some are facing economic
headwinds due to wholesale prices and the unintended consequences of current
energy policies including subsidies like the wind production tax credit. We are assessing
infrastructure, operational, commercial, policy, and legal solutions to these market
pricing issues. Putting in place the right energy and tax policies is clearly the best
answer. But our obligation to you, our shareholders, is clear: If we do not see a path
to sustainable profitability in any of our plants, we will take steps to shut those plants
down to avoid sustained losses.
Public Policy Advocacy
The enduring value of Exelon’s business portfolio and assets depends to a very large
degree on federal and state policies and regulations. One key example: low natural
gas prices are not the sole threat to the viability of nuclear plants. State-sponsored
preference to specific generation providers, technology-specific mandates, and the
wind production tax credit are all anti-competitive market strictures that put continued
operation of clean and reliable nuclear energy at risk. They cost taxpayers and
consumers a lot of money, and as they threaten the economics of nuclear generation,
they also put the nation’s progress in reducing emissions at risk. For that reason,
Exelon is and will remain a leading voice in policy debates and decision-making,
particularly around our critical priorities:
• Opposition to non-competitive energy subsidies
• Recognition of nuclear as a clean, resilient energy source
• Promotion of market rules and structures that ensure fair treatment of clean,
competitive, reliable generation
• Protection of the value of the grid
• Equitable rate recovery structures in our utility jurisdictions
Our earnings profile and
balance sheet strength enable
us to act on growth and
diversification opportunities
when the time and price
are right.
Properly designed competitive
markets ensure cost-effective
reliable power supply and
have demonstrated the ability
to eliminate dirty, inefficient
plants in the most efficient way.