Who Gets Paid for the Wires? - Part 3
THE DISPATCH — CIVIC EDUCATION
The wires to your home earn a profit for investors. Regulators set it, and you pay it.
Every month, part of your bill pays for the wires that bring power to your home. A company with investors owns them and earns a profit on them. And you cannot shop for a different wire company.
For Delmarva customers, that owner is Exelon. Exelon also owns BGE and Pepco.[1] Delmarva's last Maryland plan added about $8.71 a month to bills by 2025, which is our sum.[2]
FIRST: HOW DO WIRES EARN MONEY?
Think of a toll road that a company builds and owns. The state lets the company charge tolls to pay for the road and earn a profit too. The more road it builds, the more profit it can earn. And since there is only one road, you cannot pick another. So regulators set the profit rate, called return on equity, or ROE. It is like the interest rate on the money the company puts in. It is set by negotiation, not by a market.
There are two kinds of wires on your bill. Transmission wires are the big highways that carry power long distances. Distribution wires are the local streets, poles, and meters near your home. Maryland's Public Service Commission (PSC) sets local rates. A federal agency, FERC, sets transmission rates.[1] So Exelon has two profit rates to win, not one.
WHAT YOU MAY HAVE HEARD
"The utility sets its own profit." It asks, and regulators decide. In 2023, BGE asked for a 10.4 percent profit rate and was set at 9.5.[3] Pepco asked for 10.5 and got 9.4.[4] But rates still land above 9 percent, with no competitor to push them lower.
WHAT HAPPENED
Three things matter most.
1. Regulators trim the asks, but the profit stays high. Delmarva's 2023 to 2025 plan settled at a 9.6 percent profit rate.[2] Pepco asked for $119.9 million and was allowed $50.9 million.[4] BGE now asks for $156.1 million more, about $8 a month, and OPC wants a $43.9 million cut.[5] We found no new Delmarva Maryland case.[6] What it costs you: every ask that is granted, even in part, is paid by customers every month.
2. Exelon plans to spend a lot more on wires. It says it will invest about $41.7 billion over four years, which would grow the money it earns a return on by 7.9 percent.[7] What it costs you: the bigger the pile, the more profit it earns, and the bills rise to repay it.
3. The biggest fight is at FERC. The state says transmission is about 15 percent of a home bill, and the consumer office says transmission rates are up five to six times since 2010.[8][9] FERC gives each transmission owner a bonus of half a percentage point, called an adder, just for joining PJM, the regional grid group.[10] Maryland law now requires utilities to join. On July 2, 2026, the PSC, the consumer office, and the Maryland Energy Administration asked FERC to end the bonus. They say it would save over $20 million a year. Delmarva is one of seven owners named.[10] Exelon's utilities say their 10.5 percent return is near the middle of what is reasonable, and that Maryland cannot override FERC.[11] FERC has not ruled.[12] What it costs you: if the bonus stays, customers keep paying it.
What about executive pay? Exelon's CEO, Calvin Butler, was paid $14,662,925 in 2024. Of that, $9,169,052 was stock awards, about 62 percent, which is our math.[13] Stock is worth more when a company does well, and an earlier Exelon plan tied executive stock pay to return on equity, per a 2020 advocacy review.[14] We could not open the current plan. Our reading is that profit rates can matter to his pay, but that needs checking. Exelon's board chair says executive pay does not drive customer rates.[15]
OUR ANALYSIS: PROFIT WITHOUT A DEADLINE
Remember the two late power lines from Part 2? Part of them is Exelon's. PJM's 2023 plan gave BGE about 59 miles of the North Delta to High Ridge line, estimated at $407 million, plus parts of the Peach Bottom to Conastone rebuild. PECO, also an Exelon utility, got smaller pieces. The listed pieces for BGE and PECO add up to about $534 million, which is our math from 2023 estimates.[16]
Exelon's utilities earn a profit on the transmission they own.[11] Exelon was also a party to the deal that keeps customers paying Talen while the lines are late.[17] That is not proof that anyone wants delay. But look at the setup. Builders earn a return, customers pay for the wait, and we found no penalty for being late. Under that setup, the people who could speed things up do not pay when they don't.
What it means: today the wait costs BGE-zone customers the most and Delmarva customers little. But the same setup applies to the next line. The question for every line is who pays when it is late.
WHAT SUPPORTERS OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM SAY
Exelon says it is making "sound, long-term investments that strengthen reliability, resilience, and safety."[12] Regulators also cut asks, as the Pepco case shows.[4]
WHAT CRITICS SAY
OPC speaks for home customers, so this is an advocate's view. It says about a quarter of BGE's request comes from the higher profit rate alone.[5] Maryland's agencies say the transmission bonus pays utilities for something the law already requires.[10]
Our reading: on the wires, people set the profit, not a market. The PSC and FERC hold the pen. Part 5 shows who they are and how to be heard.
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW YET
We did not find Delmarva's own earnings, or how much of Exelon's $41.7 billion goes to Delmarva in Maryland. We do not know when FERC will rule, or whether Delmarva will file a new Maryland case.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Find the wires on your bill. Look for the delivery and transmission lines. Ask your utility what each one pays for. OPC has a guide to the pieces.[18]
- Tell FERC what you think. Anyone can file a public comment in a FERC case. The Maryland bonus case is Docket EL26-87. Use FERC's Quick Comment form.[11][19]
- Ask your state senator and delegates how they will keep pushing FERC to cut the bonus and share new line costs fairly. Part 5 shows who they are. Questions? Call OPC at 1-800-207-4055.[20]
Follow the Money, Part 3 of 5. Next in the series: Part 4, "What This Looks Like on the Shore." We look at what these costs mean for neighbors in Queen Anne's County and across the Eastern Shore.
Sources
Primary sources are government or company documents. Secondary or advocacy sources are labeled.
- Exelon, 2025 Form 10-K (SEC filing). sec.gov
- Maryland PSC, Order 90445, Delmarva multi-year rate plan, Case 9681 (primary). psc.state.md.us
- Maryland PSC, release on new BGE distribution rates, Dec. 14, 2023 (primary). psc.state.md.us
- WJLA, on the Pepco rate decision (news report). wjla.com
- Maryland OPC, release on its BGE testimony, Case 9888 (state consumer advocate; advocacy source). content.govdelivery.com
- Maryland PSC, Utility Rate Cases list, last modified June 23, 2026 (primary). psc.maryland.gov
- Exelon, Form 8-K with second quarter 2026 earnings slides, July 30, 2026 (SEC filing). sec.gov
- Maryland OPC, release on the RTO adder complaint, July 2, 2026 (advocacy source). content.govdelivery.com
- Maryland OPC, transmission costs report release, Mar. 19, 2026 (advocacy source). content.govdelivery.com
- Maryland Energy Administration, OPC and Maryland PSC, Section 206 complaint on the RTO adder, filed July 2, 2026 (primary filing). opc.maryland.gov
- Exelon utilities, answer to the RTO adder complaint, Aug. 5, 2026 (utility filing). opc.maryland.gov
- Utility Dive, Maryland RTO adder complaint, July 7, 2026 (news report). utilitydive.com
- Exelon, 2025 proxy statement (SEC filing). sec.gov
- Energy and Policy Institute, Exelon executive compensation analysis, Sept. 2020 (advocacy group; about an earlier pay plan). energyandpolicy.org
- Yahoo Finance, Exelon shareholder meeting report, Apr. 2026 (news report). finance.yahoo.com
- PJM, 2022 Window 3 baseline project B3800 components, Dec. 5, 2023 (primary). pjm.com
- FERC, Order Accepting Amended Reliability-Must-Run Rate Schedules, 196 FERC 61,140, Dockets ER26-2739-002 and ER26-2740-002, Aug. 18, 2026 (primary; Accession No. 20260818-3043). elibrary.ferc.gov
- Maryland OPC, Utility Rates and Basics page (advocacy source). opc.maryland.gov
- FERC, Quick Comment form (primary). ferconline.ferc.gov
- Maryland OPC, FERC and PJM Issues page (advocacy source). opc.maryland.gov
