Exelon’s Monopoly Spin Can’t Hide the Truth
Exelon is trying to sell ratepayers on a familiar story: Only monopoly utilities can keep the lights on without crushing families with higher bills. That claim may sound reassuring in this recent Newsweek piece by Exelon’s CEO, but it’s a bait-and-switch. For years, utilities like Exelon have been the very reason bills are soaring.
The utility business model is broken. Companies are guaranteed profits every time they spend on new infrastructure, whether it’s necessary or not. That creates an incentive to overbuild and gold-plate projects, knowing customers will be forced to pay.
Exelon’s spin leaves out the benefits of competition. Independent developers operating outside the monopoly model have shown they can bring new projects online faster and at lower cost. But competition doesn’t pad Wall Street earnings the way guaranteed utility profits do. So Exelon pushes for a return to vertical monopolies, lobbying to own and operate power plants in states where it already controls the wires. That kind of arrangement was dismantled decades ago precisely because it led to higher costs and unchecked power.
The reality is simple: Utilities don’t need more power. They need more accountability. Real reform means lowering costs, encouraging innovation, and letting consumers benefit from competition. That doesn’t happen when monopoly utilities write the rules to guarantee themselves bigger profits.
If we want an energy future that’s affordable, reliable, and clean, it won’t come from doubling down on the monopoly model. It will come from breaking utilities’ grip on the system and putting consumers first. Exelon’s new spin deserves to be called out for what it is: A self-serving sales pitch to make families pay more while Wall Street cashes in.
