v3.25.2
Commitments and Contingencies (All Registrants)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2025
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies (All Registrants) Commitments and Contingencies (All Registrants)
The following is an update to the current status of commitments and contingencies set forth in Note 18 — Commitments and Contingencies of the 2024 Form 10-K.
Commitments
PHI Merger Commitments (Exelon, PHI, Pepco, DPL, and ACE). Approval of the PHI Merger in Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and the District of Columbia was conditioned upon Exelon and PHI agreeing to certain commitments. The following amounts represent total commitment costs that have been recorded since the acquisition date and the total remaining obligations for Exelon, PHI, Pepco, DPL, and ACE at June 30, 2025:
DescriptionExelon PHI Pepco DPLACE
Total commitments$513 $320 $120 $89 $111 
Remaining commitments(a)
24 22 21 — 
__________
(a)Remaining commitments extend through 2026 and include escrow funds, charitable contributions, and rate credits.
Commercial Commitments (All Registrants). The Registrants’ commercial commitments at June 30, 2025, representing commitments potentially triggered by future events were as follows:
Expiration within
Total202520262027202820292030 and beyond
Exelon
Letters of credit(a)
$56 $28 $28 $— $— $— $— 
Surety bonds(b)
275 162 33 78 — — 
Financing trust guarantees(c)
378 — — — 78 — 300 
Guaranteed lease residual values(d)
24 — 
Total commercial commitments $733 $190 $64 $$161 $$308 
ComEd
Letters of credit(a)
$18 $10 $$— $— $— $— 
Surety bonds(b)
37 30 — — — 
Financing trust guarantees(c)
200 — — — — — 200 
Total commercial commitments $255 $40 $13 $$— $— $200 
PECO
Letters of credit(a)
$$— $$— $— $— $— 
Surety bonds(b)
— — — — — 
Financing trust guarantees(c)
178 — — — 78 — 100 
Total commercial commitments $185 $— $$— $78 $— $100 
BGE
Letters of credit(a)
$27 $14 $13 $— $— $— $— 
Surety bonds(b)
— — — — 
Total commercial commitments $30 $15 $15 $— $— $— $— 
PHI
Letters of credit(a)
$$$$— $— $— $— 
Surety bonds(b)
174 77 19 — 78 — — 
Guaranteed lease residual values(d)
24 — 
Total commercial commitments $202 $79 $24 $$83 $$
Pepco
Letters of credit(a)
$$$— $— $— $— $— 
Surety bonds(b)
162 71 13 — 78 — — 
Guaranteed lease residual values(d)
— 
Total commercial commitments $172 $73 $14 $$80 $$
DPL
Letters of credit(a)
$$— $$— $— $— $— 
Surety bonds(b)
— — — — 
Guaranteed lease residual values(d)
— 
Total commercial commitments $17 $$$$$$
ACE
Letters of credit(a)
$$— $$— $— $— $— 
Surety bonds(b)
— — — — 
Guaranteed lease residual values(d)
— 
Total commercial commitments $13 $$$$$$
__________
(a)Exelon and certain of its subsidiaries maintain non-debt letters of credit to provide credit support for certain transactions as requested by third parties.
(b)Surety bonds—Guarantees issued related to contract and commercial agreements, excluding bid bonds. Historically, payments under the guarantees have not been made and the likelihood of payments being required is remote.
(c)Reflects guarantee of ComEd and PECO securities held by ComEd Financing III, PECO Trust III, and PECO Trust IV.
(d)Represents the maximum potential obligation in the event the fair value of certain leased equipment and fleet vehicles is zero at the end of the maximum lease term. The lease term associated with these assets ranges from 1 to 9 years. The maximum potential obligation at the end of the minimum lease term would be $55 million guaranteed by Exelon and PHI, of which $17 million, $21 million, and $17 million is guaranteed by Pepco, DPL, and ACE, respectively. Historically, payments under the guarantees have not been made and PHI believes the likelihood of payments being required under the guarantees is remote.
Environmental Remediation Matters
General (All Registrants). The Registrants’ operations have in the past, and may in the future, require substantial expenditures to comply with environmental laws. Additionally, under federal and state environmental laws, the Registrants are generally liable for the costs of remediating environmental contamination of property now or formerly owned by them and of property contaminated by hazardous substances generated by them. The Registrants own or lease a number of real estate parcels, including parcels on which their operations or the operations of others may have resulted in contamination by substances that are considered hazardous under environmental laws. In addition, the Registrants are currently involved in a number of proceedings relating to sites where hazardous substances have been deposited and may be subject to additional proceedings in the future. Unless otherwise disclosed, the Registrants cannot reasonably estimate whether they will incur significant liabilities for additional investigation and remediation costs at these or additional sites identified by the Registrants, environmental agencies, or others, or whether such costs will be recoverable from third parties, including customers. Additional costs could have a material, unfavorable impact on the Registrants' financial statements.
MGP Sites (All Registrants). ComEd, PECO, BGE, and DPL have identified sites where former MGP or gas purification activities have or may have resulted in actual site contamination. For some sites, there are additional PRPs that may share responsibility for the ultimate remediation of each location.
ComEd has 16 sites currently under some degree of active study and/or remediation. ComEd expects the majority of the remediation at these sites to continue through at least 2031.
PECO has 6 sites currently under some degree of active study and/or remediation. PECO expects the majority of the remediation at these sites to continue through at least 2028.
BGE has 4 sites currently requiring some level of remediation and/or ongoing activity. BGE expects the majority of the remediation at these sites to continue through at least 2026.
DPL has 1 site currently under study and the required cost at the site is not expected to be material.
The historical nature of the MGP and gas purification sites, and the fact that many of the sites have been buried and built over, impacts the ability to determine a precise estimate of the ultimate costs prior to initial sampling and determination of the exact scope and method of remedial activity. Management determines its best estimate of remediation costs using all available information at the time of each study, including probabilistic and deterministic modeling for ComEd and PECO, and the remediation standards currently required by the applicable state environmental agency. Prior to performing any significant clean up, each site remediation plan is approved by the appropriate state environmental agency.
ComEd, pursuant to an ICC order, and PECO, pursuant to a PAPUC order, are currently recovering environmental remediation costs of former MGP facility sites through customer rates. While BGE and DPL do not have riders for MGP clean-up costs, they have historically received recovery of actual clean-up costs in distribution rates.
At June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Registrants had accrued the following undiscounted amounts for environmental liabilities in Accrued expenses, Other current liabilities, and Other deferred credits and other liabilities in their respective Consolidated Balance Sheets:
June 30, 2025December 31, 2024
Total Environmental
Investigation and
Remediation Liabilities
Portion of Total Related to
MGP Investigation and
Remediation
Total Environmental
Investigation and
Remediation Liabilities
Portion of Total Related to
MGP Investigation and
Remediation
Exelon$382 $317 $403 $322 
ComEd280 280 285 284 
PECO29 27 29 28 
BGE14 10 13 10 
PHI58 — 75 — 
Pepco56 — 73 — 
DPL— — 
ACE— — 
Benning Road Site (Exelon, PHI, and Pepco). In September 2010, PHI received a letter from the EPA identifying the Benning Road site as one of six land-based sites potentially contributing to contamination of the lower Anacostia River. A portion of the site, which is owned by Pepco, was formerly the location of an electric generating facility owned by Pepco subsidiary, Pepco Energy Services (PES), which became a part of Generation following the 2016 merger between PHI and Exelon. This generating facility was deactivated in June 2012. The remaining portion of the site consists of a Pepco transmission and distribution service center that remains in operation. In December 2011, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved a Consent Decree entered into by Pepco and Pepco Energy Services (hereinafter "Pepco Entities") with the DOEE, which requires the Pepco Entities to conduct a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) for the Benning Road site and an approximately 10 to 15-acre portion of the adjacent Anacostia River. The purpose of this RI/FS is to define the nature and extent of contamination from the Benning Road site and to evaluate remedial alternatives.
Pursuant to an internal agreement between the Pepco Entities, since 2013, Pepco has performed the work required by the Consent Decree and has been reimbursed for that work by an agreed upon allocation of costs between the Pepco Entities. In September 2019, the Pepco Entities issued a draft “final” RI report which the DOEE approved on February 3, 2020. In October 2022, the DOEE approved dividing the work to complete the landside portion of the FS from the waterside portion to expedite the overall schedule for completion of the project. The landside FS was approved by the DOEE on March 15th, 2024, and the waterside FS was approved by the DOEE on December 16, 2024. The DOEE and Pepco entered into an addendum to the Benning Consent Decree pursuant to which Pepco has agreed to fund or perform the remedial actions to be selected by the DOEE for the landside and waterside areas. This addendum to the Benning Consent Decree was entered by the Court on February 27, 2024 and became effective on that date. Pepco drafted a proposed plan for the landside area, which was approved and issued by the DOEE for public comment on December 16, 2024. The landside area public comment period closed on April 18, 2025. Pepco will submit a matrix of proposed responses to the public comments and a proposed Record of Decision (ROD) to the DOEE for the landside area before August 18, 2025. Pepco also submitted a draft proposed plan to the DOEE for the waterside area on April 15, 2025. The DOEE will review Pepco’s draft and issue a final proposed plan for public comment. After the waterside area public comment period closes, Pepco will submit a matrix of proposed responses to the public comments and a proposed ROD to the DOEE for the waterside area. The DOEE will issue ROD(s) identifying the remedial actions determined to be necessary for the landside and waterside areas.
As part of the separation between Exelon and Constellation in February 2022, the internal agreement between the Pepco Entities for completion and payment for the remaining Consent Decree work was memorialized in a formal agreement for post-separation activities. A second post-separation assumption agreement between Exelon and Constellation transferred any of the potential remaining remediation liability, if any, of PES/Generation to a non-utility subsidiary of Exelon which going forward will be responsible for those liabilities. Exelon, PHI, and Pepco have determined that a loss associated with this matter is probable and have accrued an estimated liability, which is included in the table above.
Anacostia River Tidal Reach (Exelon, PHI, and Pepco). Contemporaneous with the Benning Road site RI/FS being performed by the Pepco Entities, the DOEE and NPS have been conducting a separate RI/FS focused on the entire tidal reach of the Anacostia River extending from just north of the Maryland-District of Columbia boundary line to the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. The riverwide RI incorporated the results of the river sampling performed by the Pepco Entities as part of the Benning RI/FS, as well as similar sampling efforts conducted by owners of other sites adjacent to this segment of the river and supplemental river sampling conducted by the DOEE’s contractor.
On September 30, 2020, the DOEE released its Interim ROD for the Anacostia River sediments. The Interim ROD reflects an adaptive management approach which will require several identified “hot spots” in the river to be addressed first while continuing to conduct studies and to monitor the river to evaluate improvements and determine potential future remediation plans. The adaptive management process chosen by the DOEE is less intrusive, provides more long-term environmental certainty, is less costly, and allows for site specific remediation plans already underway, including the plan for the Benning Road site to proceed to conclusion.
On July 15, 2022, Pepco received a letter from the District of Columbia's Office of the Attorney General (D.C. OAG) on behalf of the DOEE conveying a settlement offer to resolve all PRPs' liability to the District of Columbia (District) for their past costs and their anticipated future costs to complete the work for the Interim ROD. Pepco responded on July 27, 2022 agreeing to enter into settlement discussions. Pepco and the District entered into another consent decree (the “Anacostia River Consent Decree”) pursuant to which Pepco agreed to pay $47 million to resolve its liability to the District for all past costs to perform the riverwide RI/FS and all future costs to complete the work required by the Interim ROD. This amount was agreed to be paid in four equal annual installments beginning a year after the effective date of the Anacostia River Consent Decree. Pepco paid the first installment of $12 million on April 9, 2025. The funds were deposited into the DOEE’s Clean Land Fund for the District’s costs of the Interim ROD work. The Anacostia River Consent Decree caps Pepco’s liability for these costs and provides Pepco with the right to seek contributions from other PRPs. The Anacostia River Consent Decree was signed by the judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and became effective on April 11, 2024. Exelon, PHI, and Pepco have accrued a liability for Pepco’s payment obligations under the Anacostia Consent Decree and management's best estimate of its share of any other future Anacostia River response costs. Pepco has concluded that incremental exposure remains reasonably possible, but management cannot reasonably estimate a range of loss beyond the amounts recorded, which are included in the table above.
In addition to the activities associated with the remedial process outlined above, CERCLA separately requires federal and state (here including Washington, D.C.) Natural Resource Trustees (federal or state agencies designated by the President or the relevant state, respectively, or Indian tribes) to conduct an assessment of any damages to natural resources within their jurisdiction as a result of the contamination that is being remediated. The Trustees can seek compensation from responsible parties for such damages, including restoration costs. During the second quarter of 2018, Pepco became aware that the Trustees are in the beginning stages of a NRD assessment, a process that often takes many years beyond the remedial decision to complete. Pepco has concluded that a loss associated with the eventual NRD assessment is reasonably possible. Due to the early stage of the NRD process, Pepco cannot reasonably estimate the final range of loss potentially resulting from this process. Pepco has become aware, however, that the District is pursuing claims against other parties. Specifically, in January 2025, D.C. OAG filed a lawsuit against the United States seeking to declare the United States liable under CERCLA and the District of Columbia’s Brownfield Revitalization Act of 2000 and to recover the District’s response costs associated with its investigation and remediation of Anacostia River sediment contamination and for future NRDs. Pepco, the United States, and the District of Columbia have entered mediation discussions to resolve their respective claims against one another under CERCLA and the Brownfield Revitalization Act with respect to the river. The court has put the case on hold pending the outcome of the mediation.
As noted in the Benning Road Site disclosure above, as part of the separation of Exelon and Constellation in February 2022, an assumption agreement was executed transferring any potential future remediation liabilities associated with the Benning Site remediation to a non-utility subsidiary of Exelon. Similarly, any potential future liability associated with the Anacostia River Sediment Project was also assumed by this entity.
Buzzard Point Site (Exelon, PHI, and Pepco). On December 8, 2022, Pepco received a letter from the D.C. OAG, alleging wholly past violations of the District's stormwater discharge and waste disposal requirements related to operations at the Buzzard Point facility, a 9-acre parcel of waterfront property in Washington, D.C. occupied by an active substation and former steam plant building. The letter also alleged wholly past violations
by Pepco of stormwater discharge requirements related to its district-wide system of underground vaults. Pepco entered into a Consent Order with the District of Columbia to resolve the alleged violations without any admission of liability. The Consent Order requires Pepco to pay a civil penalty of $10 million. In addition, Pepco has agreed to assess the environmental conditions at its Buzzard Point facility and conduct any remedial actions deemed necessary as a result of the assessment, and also to assess potential environmental impacts associated with the operation of its underground vaults. The Superior Court for the District of Columbia signed and entered the Consent Order, and it became effective on February 2, 2024. Pepco is proceeding through the multi-step environmental investigation and response as outlined in the consent order. Pepco submitted a vault system report and a revised report addressing the DOEE's comments in May 2025. Exelon, PHI, and Pepco have accrued a liability for the projected costs for the required environmental assessments and remediation. In January 2025, Pepco paid the last installment of the civil penalty. Pepco has concluded that incremental exposure remains reasonably possible, but management cannot reasonably estimate a range of loss beyond the amounts recorded, which are included in the table above.
Litigation and Regulatory Matters
DPA and Related Matters (Exelon and ComEd). Exelon and ComEd received a grand jury subpoena in the second quarter of 2019 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois (USAO) requiring production of information concerning their lobbying activities in the State of Illinois. On October 4, 2019, Exelon and ComEd received a second grand jury subpoena from the USAO requiring production of records of any communications with certain individuals and entities. The Companies cooperated fully with the USAO and any government requests or inquiries. On July 17, 2020, ComEd entered into a DPA with the USAO to resolve the USAO investigation into its historical state legislative lobbying and related practices in Illinois. The agreement resolved the Department of Justice investigation into both ComEd and Exelon, which included a payment to the U.S. Treasury of $200 million, which was paid in November 2020. The three-year term of the DPA ended on July 17, 2023, and on that same date the court granted the USAO’s motion to dismiss the pending charge against ComEd that had been deferred by the DPA.
Subsequent to Exelon announcing the receipt of the USAO subpoenas, various lawsuits were filed related to the subject of the subpoenas and the conduct described in the DPA. Several putative class actions were brought in federal and state court by ComEd customers. These actions were dismissed prior to discovery or trial and those dismissals were affirmed on appeal. A putative class action alleging misrepresentations and omissions in Exelon's SEC filings related to ComEd's lobbying activities and the related investigations was also brought in federal court against Exelon and ComEd, which was subsequently settled.
In addition, subsequent to Exelon announcing the receipt of the USAO subpoenas, several shareholders sent letters to the Exelon Board of Directors demanding, among other things, that the Exelon Board of Directors investigate and address alleged breaches of fiduciary duties and other alleged violations by Exelon and ComEd officers and directors related to the conduct described in the DPA. In the first quarter of 2021, the Exelon Board of Directors appointed a Special Litigation Committee (SLC) consisting of disinterested and independent parties to investigate and address these shareholders’ allegations and make recommendations to the Exelon Board of Directors based on the outcome of the SLC’s investigation. In July 2021, one of the demand letter shareholders filed a derivative action against current and former Exelon and ComEd officers and directors, and against Exelon, as nominal defendant, asserting the same claims made in its demand letter. Since that date, multiple parties have filed separate derivative lawsuits that were subsequently consolidated. On October 12, 2021, the parties filed an agreed motion to stay the litigation for 120 days in order to allow the SLC to continue its investigation, which the court granted. The stay was extended several times. Through mediation efforts, a settlement of the derivative claims was reached by the SLC, the Independent Review Committee of the Board (which had been formed in the third quarter of 2022, to ensure the Board’s consideration of any SLC recommendations would be independent and objective), the Board, and certain of the derivative shareholders. On June 16, 2023, the SLC filed a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement, attaching the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement (Stipulation), which contained the terms of the proposed settlement. The proposed settlement terms include but are not limited to: a payment of $40 million to Exelon by Exelon’s insurers of which $10 million constitutes the attorneys’ fee award to be paid to the Settling Shareholders’ counsel; various compliance and disclosure-related reforms; and certain changes in Board and Committee composition. The non-settling shareholders objected to the settlement and opposed preliminary approval. On September 20, 2024, the court denied without prejudice the SLC’s motion for preliminary approval. The court’s order provided that if the SLC can substantiate or otherwise revise the attorneys’ fees aspect of the settlement, then the SLC could renew its motion for preliminary approval by October 21, 2024. On October 21, 2024, the SLC filed its second renewed motion for preliminary approval,
and the Settling Shareholders filed a brief in support of the SLC's second renewed motion for preliminary approval. On November 20, 2024, the non-settling plaintiffs filed an opposition to the renewed motion for preliminary approval. On December 18, 2024, the SLC and Settling Shareholders filed replies in support of the renewed motion for preliminary approval.
Maryland Sales and Use Tax Refund Claim (Exelon, BGE, PHI, Pepco, and DPL). Maryland imposes a 6% sales and use tax on the purchase of most goods and services. BGE, Pepco, and DPL have filed or plan to file protective refund claims, totaling an estimated $100 million, treating electric transmission and distribution machinery and equipment as nontaxable pursuant to the manufacturing exemption available under the Maryland sales and use tax law. The Maryland Comptroller has initially denied the refund claim and litigation is pending.
On November 22, 2024, the Appellate Court of Maryland, in a case involving a regulated electric utility operating in Maryland, ruled the purchase of certain transmission and distribution equipment qualify for the sales tax manufacturing exemption. On December 20, 2024, the Maryland Attorney General, on behalf of the Maryland Comptroller, filed a motion for reconsideration with the Appellate Court of Maryland of its ruling. The motion for reconsideration was denied on February 3, 2025.
On February 18, 2025, the Maryland Attorney General, on behalf of the Maryland Comptroller, filed a petition with the Maryland Supreme Court requesting review of the Appellate Court of Maryland’s ruling. On April 24, 2025, the Maryland Supreme Court granted the petition to review the ruling.
In the event transmission and distribution equipment is determined to be exempt, Exelon, BGE, PHI, Pepco, and DPL will record estimated receivables of $100 million, $65 million, $35 million, $25 million, and $10 million, respectively. The sales tax payments were primarily capitalized; therefore, the refund would be recorded as a reduction to property, plant, and equipment included in rate base.
General (All Registrants). The Registrants are involved in various other litigation matters that are being defended and handled in the ordinary course of business. The Registrants are also from time to time subject to audits and investigations by the FERC and other regulators. The assessment of whether a loss is probable or reasonably possible, and whether the loss or a range of loss is estimable, often involves a series of complex judgments about future events. The Registrants maintain accruals for such losses that are probable of being incurred and subject to reasonable estimation. Management is sometimes unable to estimate an amount or range of reasonably possible loss, particularly where (1) the damages sought are indeterminate, (2) the proceedings are in the early stages, or (3) the matters involve novel or unsettled legal theories. In such cases, there is considerable uncertainty regarding the timing or ultimate resolution of such matters, including a possible eventual loss.