Exelon NASDAQ: EXC reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted operating earnings of $0.43 per share, up from $0.39 per share a year earlier, and reaffirmed its full-year guidance of $2.81 to $2.91 per share.
President and Chief Executive Officer Calvin Butler said the company’s utilities continued to deliver reliability performance that is projected to rank in the industry’s top quartile, with ComEd and Pepco Holdings Inc. utilities projected in the top decile. Butler also reiterated Exelon’s expectation for annualized earnings growth near the upper end of its 5% to 7% target range from 2025 through 2029.
The company expects to deploy approximately $10 billion of capital in 2026 for customer-focused infrastructure investments, while targeting a consolidated operating return on equity of 9% to 10%.
Storm response and reliability investments
Butler highlighted severe weather challenges in Illinois, where ComEd has experienced 16 major weather events so far this year, its highest level in more than two decades. Illinois has also recorded more tornadoes than any other state, he said.
Monday’s severe storms affected about 530,000 customers, and ComEd restored power to 90% of affected customers within 48 hours, according to Butler. He attributed the response to the company’s workforce and prior investments in grid resilience.
Exelon said its top-quartile reliability performance saved customers an estimated $1 billion in avoided outage costs during 2025. Annual customer interruptions have declined by nearly 2 million since 2021, Butler said. The company also said that every $1 million it invests generates an average of eight jobs or $1.7 million in economic output.
Rate cases and regulatory activity
Chief Financial Officer Jeanne Jones said Exelon is advancing several regulatory proceedings across its service territories. Pepco Maryland expects a final order in its traditional electric base rate case next month, while Delmarva Power’s Delaware electric base rate case is expected to receive a final order in the third quarter of 2027.
Baltimore Gas and Electric filed an electric distribution rate case on July 2 seeking a $156.1 million revenue requirement increase under a historic test year. The filing includes revised financing and storm restoration costs, a proposed storm recovery mechanism and additional customer payment flexibility. A decision is expected in January 2027.
Delmarva Power is seeking a $45.4 million revenue requirement increase in Delaware to support system upgrades and reliability investments. It implemented interim rates effective July 9, subject to refund.
At ComEd, Exelon’s grid plan proceeding continues, with hearings scheduled for August and an order expected by Dec. 15. The plan proposes approximately $15.3 billion of investment from 2028 through 2031 for reliability, load growth and Illinois energy-policy objectives.
Butler said BGE delayed its rate-case filing, deferred selected projects and prioritized maintenance and reliability work to help manage customer affordability. However, he said deferring essential work for too long could lead to more outages, higher repair costs and greater long-term costs for customers.
PJM supply concerns drive storage and transmission push
Exelon’s executives pointed to resource adequacy concerns in the PJM Interconnection market. Butler said PJM demand reached a record 168 gigawatts during extreme heat in July, prompting emergency procedures and demand-response deployment. Power prices surged from about $80 per megawatt-hour to roughly $800 per megawatt-hour, he said.
The most recent PJM capacity auction fell about 6.8 gigawatts short of PJM’s reliability requirement, according to Butler. Prices cleared at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission-approved cap for the third consecutive auction. Without the cap, PJM simulations indicated prices of approximately $555 per megawatt-day across the footprint and $777 per megawatt-day in ComEd’s territory, he said.
Butler said Exelon supports an “all-of-the-above” strategy involving transmission, demand-side resources, market-based generation and utility-owned generation where appropriate. He said the company is continuing discussions with states, PJM and FERC on measures intended to protect customers and improve system reliability.
- Exelon and Invenergy submitted two additional MISO Tranche 2.1 competitive transmission bids.
- Atlantic City Electric and Invenergy advanced a proposed 500-megawatt, four-hour battery storage project in Pittsgrove, New Jersey.
- BGE and Pepco submitted battery-storage projects in Maryland’s distribution-connected storage solicitation.
- Several Exelon utilities received approvals or advanced plans for virtual power plant programs that aggregate customer-sited resources.
Jones said the Pittsgrove project would be the largest battery storage installation in PJM and could power approximately 400,000 homes. The project represents about $1 billion in investment not currently included in Exelon’s plan. She said anticipated PJM market revenues would be returned entirely to customers and that the project is expected to generate more than $700 million in net customer benefits after entering service, with no customer bill impact expected until at least 2035.
Atlantic City Electric filed for approval of a cost-recovery mechanism for the project, with a final order anticipated in the first half of 2027.
Capital plan and financing progress
Jones said Exelon’s $41 billion capital plan through 2029 remains unchanged despite the company refining its assessment of data-center demand. Exelon said it now identifies 11 gigawatts of high-probability load growth, including 4 gigawatts supported by signed Transmission Security Agreements and $1 billion of collateral. The remaining 7 gigawatts of high-probability projects predated the TSA process but are further along in development, Jones said.
The company said its TSA process is intended to filter speculative large-load requests and ensure that customers seeking major grid connections make financial commitments tied to needed infrastructure.
Exelon has completed approximately 86% of its 2026 debt financing needs, including all anticipated debt issuance at the holding company, Pepco Holdings, ComEd and BGE, Jones said. The company has also priced approximately 37% of planned equity needs through 2029 through forward contracts under its at-the-market program, including all 2026 needs and half of expected 2027 needs.
For the third quarter, Exelon expects earnings to represent approximately 27% of the midpoint of its full-year guidance range. That outlook incorporates weather, storms, the PECO employee strike earlier in July, and normal weather and storm activity for the remainder of the quarter.
About Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC)
Exelon Corporation NASDAQ: EXC is a Chicago-based energy company that operates primarily as a regulated electric and natural gas utility holding company. The company's businesses focus on the delivery of electricity and related services to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as investments in grid modernization, customer energy solutions and demand-side programs. Exelon's operations emphasize reliable service delivery, infrastructure maintenance and regulatory compliance across its utility footprint.
Formed in 2000 through the merger of Unicom and PECO Energy, Exelon historically combined generation and regulated utility businesses.
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