Climate Lobbying Overview: Exelon appears to engage on U.S. climate policy with mostly positive positions. The company’s support for federal-level climate proposals contrasts with its mixed positions on state-level legislation, and its Maryland subsidiaries have promoted the long-term role of fossil gas by pushing back on state and local building decarbonization measures. Exelon is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is actively opposed to U.S. climate policy, and serves on the board of the American Gas Association, which maintains strategic opposition to building electrification policies.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Exelon has positive top-line communications on climate policy. The company appears to recognize the need for urgent action on climate change in its 2021 Sustainability Report, in which it advocates for global carbon neutrality and economy-wide decarbonization. In July 2022, Exelon signed a C2ES-organized advertisement that advocated for Congress and President Biden to enact climate investments through budget reconciliation. The company supports the Paris Agreement, applauding the country’s reentry to the deal in January 2021.

Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: Exelon appears to engage on climate-related policies with mostly positive positions. At the federal level, the company has demonstrated strong support for regulatory proposals: in October 2022, Exelon submitted a joint letter in support of the Department of Energy’s energy conservation standards for gas and propane furnaces; previously, in January 2022, the company submitted joint and individual comments in support of the methane rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Exelon has also advocated for several regional emissions trading programs, supporting Pennsylvania’s intent to join into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative as reported by Inside Climate News in May 2022 and submitting April 2021 comments in support of the cap-and-invest structure of the Transportation and Climate Initiative.

Exelon demonstrates mixed positions on state-level climate legislation, mainly via its Maryland subsidiaries. For example, in February 2022, subsidiaries Pepco and Delmarva Power submitted testimony in opposition to the Maryland Climate Solutions Now Act, which established a GHG emissions reduction target of 60% by 2030. The previous year, in February 2021, the same subsidiaries testified in opposition to Maryland House Bill 569, which would double the state’s net metering capacity. In Pennsylvania, subsidiary PECO (distinct from Pepco) submitted August 2021 testimony in support of Pennsylvania House Bill 1080 to increase the solar energy target in the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Exelon demonstrates mixed positions on the energy transition, supporting transport electrification measures while engaging to protect the long-term role of fossil gas. Its Maryland subsidiaries have consistently opposed recent state and local building electrification proposals. In October 2022 and July 2022, subsidiary BGE opposed Montgomery County Bill 13-22, which would require all-electric building standards for new construction and major renovations by 2024; subsidiary Pepco also submitted July 2022 testimony against the bill and successfully pushed for a later timeline for the building electrification standards to take effect. At the state level in Maryland, subsidiary BGE opposed similar proposals: in March 2022, it opposed House Bill 851 on building decarbonization and emphasized that the legislation “forces a rapid and seismic shift in the state’s economy.” In February 2022, BGE also opposed the gas ban provision in the Maryland Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, which was subsequently struck from the final bill.

Exelon demonstrates positive positions on federal-level decarbonization policies and transport electrification. Following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022, the company published a press release in support of the law’s climate provisions. Exelon also submitted comments in support of implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s electric vehicle provisions in August 2022 and January 2022. In Maryland, subsidiaries Pepco and Delmarva Power submitted January 2022 testimony in support of House Bill 94 on electrifying the state vehicle fleet.

Industry Association Governance: Exelon discloses its contributions to industry associations on its corporate website and states in its 2021 sustainability report, without elaborating, that it advocates for change when the associations’ positions on climate diverge from the company’s own. Exelon is a member of the Edison Electric Institute, whose mixed support for the proposed Clean Electricity Performance Program in the Biden administration reconciliation bill was at odds with the company’s own positive position. In addition, Exelon is a member of two trade associations that engage with highly negative positions on US climate policy: the American Gas Association, which continues to push back against building electrification policies, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which continues to oppose federal climate measures.

InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q1 2023.