PECO Energy Company
Encyclopedia
PECO is an energy company founded in 1881 and incorporated in 1929. It became part of Exelon Corporation
(NYSE: EXC) in 2000 when it merged with Unicom. The company has approximately 2,300 employees; its call center
and field craft personnel are members of IBEW Local 614. PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 485,000 natural gas
customers; it is the largest combination utility in Pennsylvania, and has a franchise utility service area of 2100 square miles (5,439 km²) with a population of 3.8 million people.
PECO’s total assets are valued at $9.8 billion. The company delivered 87700000000 cubic feet (2,483,387,481.9 m³) of natural gas and 39.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2008, generating $5.5 billion in revenue.
PECO’s utility business is capital intensive
and requires significant investments for the electric and gas delivery systems to ensure adequate capacity and reliability for customers. PECO’s anticipated capital expenditure
s for 2009 are estimated at $400 million—about three-fourths for the electric business, nearly 20 percent for gas, and the rest is common.The company pays about $510 million in local, state and federal income and other taxes annually.
PECO's peak electric load occurred on August 3, 2006 and was 8,932 megawatts (MWs) and its highest peak load in the winter season occurred on December 20, 2004 and was 6,838 MW. Residential electric usage makes up about 35 percent of PECO’s total electric delivery and half of the annual electric revenue.
PECO’s electric sales tend to peak in the summer and winter seasons, driven by air conditioning
and heating load when extreme temperatures create greater demand. The company's natural gas sales are generally higher during the winter periods when cold temperatures create demand for heating. The company’s highest gas sales occurred on Jan. 17, 2000 and was 718000000000 cubic feet (20,331,496,146 m³) of gas. Gas usage by residential customers is approximately half of PECO’s total deliveries.
The PECO transition period for the competitive electric generation market ended on Dec. 31, 2010, when caps on retail rates and competitive transition charges on customer bills ended. PECO electric rates had been capped for 12 years. PECO expects to purchase all of its wholesale electricity from competitive market sources subsequent to 2010 with retail customers charged the actual costs of procurement.
PECO owns, maintains and operates 1067 miles (1,717.2 km) of higher-voltage transmission line
s, 15260 square miles (39,523.2 km²) of underground distribution cable, and 12933 miles (20,813.6 km) of aerial distribution lines. On the gas side, PECO owns, maintains and operates 12157 miles (19,564.7 km) of transmission, distribution and service pipes.
PECO has a liquefied natural gas
storage facility in West Conshohocken, Pa
. with capacity of 1200000000 cubic feet (33,980,216.4 m³) and a propane-air plant in Chester, Pa
. with storage capacity of 1980000 gallons (7,495.1 m³). The company also owns 29 natural gas city gate
stations at various locations that link with interstate pipelines.
Exelon
Exelon Corporation is an electricity generating and distributing company headquartered in the Chase Tower in the Chicago Loop area of Chicago. It was created in October, 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia and Chicago respectively. Unicom owned Commonwealth Edison...
(NYSE: EXC) in 2000 when it merged with Unicom. The company has approximately 2,300 employees; its call center
Call centre
A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
and field craft personnel are members of IBEW Local 614. PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 485,000 natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
customers; it is the largest combination utility in Pennsylvania, and has a franchise utility service area of 2100 square miles (5,439 km²) with a population of 3.8 million people.
PECO’s total assets are valued at $9.8 billion. The company delivered 87700000000 cubic feet (2,483,387,481.9 m³) of natural gas and 39.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2008, generating $5.5 billion in revenue.
PECO’s utility business is capital intensive
Capital intensity
Capital intensity is the term in economics for the amount of fixed or real capital present in relation to other factors of production, especially labor...
and requires significant investments for the electric and gas delivery systems to ensure adequate capacity and reliability for customers. PECO’s anticipated capital expenditure
Capital expenditure
Capital expenditures are expenditures creating future benefits. A capital expenditure is incurred when a business spends money either to buy fixed assets or to add to the value of an existing fixed asset with a useful life extending beyond the taxable year...
s for 2009 are estimated at $400 million—about three-fourths for the electric business, nearly 20 percent for gas, and the rest is common.The company pays about $510 million in local, state and federal income and other taxes annually.
PECO's peak electric load occurred on August 3, 2006 and was 8,932 megawatts (MWs) and its highest peak load in the winter season occurred on December 20, 2004 and was 6,838 MW. Residential electric usage makes up about 35 percent of PECO’s total electric delivery and half of the annual electric revenue.
PECO’s electric sales tend to peak in the summer and winter seasons, driven by air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
and heating load when extreme temperatures create greater demand. The company's natural gas sales are generally higher during the winter periods when cold temperatures create demand for heating. The company’s highest gas sales occurred on Jan. 17, 2000 and was 718000000000 cubic feet (20,331,496,146 m³) of gas. Gas usage by residential customers is approximately half of PECO’s total deliveries.
The PECO transition period for the competitive electric generation market ended on Dec. 31, 2010, when caps on retail rates and competitive transition charges on customer bills ended. PECO electric rates had been capped for 12 years. PECO expects to purchase all of its wholesale electricity from competitive market sources subsequent to 2010 with retail customers charged the actual costs of procurement.
PECO owns, maintains and operates 1067 miles (1,717.2 km) of higher-voltage transmission line
Transmission line
In communications and electronic engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable designed to carry alternating current of radio frequency, that is, currents with a frequency high enough that its wave nature must be taken into account...
s, 15260 square miles (39,523.2 km²) of underground distribution cable, and 12933 miles (20,813.6 km) of aerial distribution lines. On the gas side, PECO owns, maintains and operates 12157 miles (19,564.7 km) of transmission, distribution and service pipes.
PECO has a liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport....
storage facility in West Conshohocken, Pa
West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania
West Conshohocken is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,462 in 1880; 2,482 in 1950; 1,516 in 1980; 1,294 in 1990; and 1,320 at the 2010 census....
. with capacity of 1200000000 cubic feet (33,980,216.4 m³) and a propane-air plant in Chester, Pa
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
. with storage capacity of 1980000 gallons (7,495.1 m³). The company also owns 29 natural gas city gate
City gate
A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. Other terms include port.-Uses:City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods and animals...
stations at various locations that link with interstate pipelines.