PECO
PECO (formerly Philadelphia Electric Company) is the electric and natural gas utility serving Philadelphia and surrounding southeastern Pennsylvania counties. A subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, PECO provides electricity to approximately 1.6 million customers and natural gas to over 500,000 customers, making it the region's primary energy utility. The company's history spans over 140 years, from the early days of electrical service through the development of the modern integrated grid.[1]
History
Philadelphia's electrical utility history began in the 1880s, with multiple companies providing service to different areas of the city. Consolidation in the early twentieth century created the Philadelphia Electric Company in 1902, merging various smaller utilities into a unified system. The company expanded to serve the growing metropolitan area while investing in generation facilities to meet increasing demand.[1]
PECO developed a diverse generation portfolio through the twentieth century, including coal, oil, and nuclear plants. The company's nuclear facilities, including the Limerick and Peach Bottom stations, became major generators for the regional grid. Nuclear power provided the majority of PECO's electricity generation, positioning the company differently from utilities more dependent on fossil fuels.[1]
Deregulation in the 1990s transformed the utility industry, with PECO transitioning from a vertically integrated utility generating and distributing electricity to a distribution company in a competitive generation market. The 2000 merger with Unicom (parent of Chicago's Commonwealth Edison) created Exelon Corporation, making PECO part of the nation's largest utility company by customer count.[1]
Service Territory
PECO's electric service territory encompasses Philadelphia and Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties—the core of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. This coverage area serves approximately four million people through 1.6 million customer accounts, including residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company operates thousands of miles of transmission and distribution lines delivering electricity throughout the region.[1]
Natural gas service, acquired through various mergers and acquisitions, covers a somewhat different territory with over 500,000 customers. Gas distribution infrastructure delivers natural gas for heating, cooking, and industrial uses. The gas business operates somewhat separately from electric operations, with different regulatory frameworks and infrastructure requirements.[1]
The service territory includes urban Philadelphia, dense inner suburbs, and more rural outer county areas, presenting varied infrastructure challenges. Urban areas feature underground distribution systems while suburban and rural areas use overhead lines. Different customer densities and usage patterns require tailored approaches across the service territory.[1]
Infrastructure
PECO's distribution network includes substations that step down high-voltage transmission power for local distribution, along with thousands of miles of wire delivering electricity to customers. The infrastructure's age varies, with some facilities dating to the early twentieth century while others reflect recent investment. Maintaining and upgrading this infrastructure represents a major ongoing investment.[1]
Grid modernization efforts have added smart meters, automated switching, and improved outage detection and response capabilities. These investments improve reliability, enable better demand management, and support emerging technologies including electric vehicles and distributed solar generation. The transition to a "smart grid" continues with ongoing investment in digital capabilities.[1]
Storm response capabilities have developed to address the weather events—hurricanes, ice storms, severe thunderstorms—that cause power outages in the region. PECO maintains mutual aid agreements with other utilities, enabling import of restoration crews during major events. The company's storm response has received both criticism during particularly severe outages and credit for restoration efforts.[1]
Clean Energy Transition
The transition away from fossil fuels affects PECO as both a distributor of electricity and natural gas. Exelon's 2022 separation of its generation business left PECO as a pure distribution utility, with electricity generation market dynamics determined by independent generators competing in wholesale markets. However, the shift to electric vehicles and building electrification may increase electricity demand while reducing natural gas consumption.[1]
Programs supporting customer adoption of solar panels, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency affect how PECO's network is used. Distributed solar generation feeds power back into the grid, changing the traditional one-way flow of electricity from generators to consumers. These changes require grid investments and operational adaptations.[1]