CHICAGO, Nov 17, 2010 (CleanEnergyFutures.com) — To help its Exelon 2020 strategy eliminate the total of its 2001 carbon footprint by 2020, Exelon announced yesterday that it is planning an investment of almost $5 billion in cost-effective, clean energy projects starting in the last weeks of 2010. The projects in Pennsylvania, Illinois and elsewhere include Smart Grid and energy-efficiency programs, economic renewable energy investments, and larger production rates at Exelon’s nuclear power plants.

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“We are committed to a clean and secure energy supply at the lowest cost to the communities and customers we serve and the markets in which we operate,” John W. Rowe, chairman and CEO of Exelon said in the statement. “Exelon 2020 is a roadmap for advancing market-driven innovation and economic options.”

Exelon’s plan to invest nearly $5 billion between 2010 and 2015 in local and state economies should result in new orders for equipment and material, contracts for engineering and construction work, and agreements for technical and professional service. The investment plan aims to support thousands of jobs at Exelon and over 5,000 of its suppliers.

“A clean energy portfolio, based on sound economics, creates compelling value and provides a clear competitive advantage,” said Rowe. “Our Exelon 2020 analysis tells us which actions will provide our customers with clean, reliable and secure power in the most cost-effective manner, while also providing high returns for our shareholders.”

Exelon is halfway to reaching its goal of eliminating the amount of its 2001 carbon footprint by displacing, reducing, and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions in excess of 15 million metric tons per year by 2020. Getting to the halfway mark is similar to removing 1.5 million cars from the road each year.

Key initiatives included under Exelon 2020:

Energy-efficiency programs for customers of PECO and ComEd as well as within Exelon’s operations, including reducing energy use at facilities of the company by 23 percent, growing the output of Exelon’s zero-emission nuclear plants by 100 MW since 2008, plus more future uprates in scheduled investments in renewable energies, including buying a $900 million, John Deere 735 MW wind operation, and constructing a solar plant with 10 MW output on Chicago’s South Side Smart Grid initiatives in Chicago and Philadelphia, created to give information and tools to customers to better manage their energy usage, starting with a rollout of 720,000 smart meters, and retiring four inefficient, carbon-intensive fossil fuel units in Pennsylvania whose combined capacity exceeds 933 MW.

“With its Exelon 2020 strategy, Exelon has staked out a position as an industry leader in addressing climate change,” Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, a coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations focused on sustainability challenges, said in the statement. “The company has shown that it is economically feasible to make major clean energy investments that have a real, tangible impact on greenhouse gas emissions, and we encourage other utilities to follow suit.”

Within the Exelon 2020 roadmap, the company is conducting yearly analyses of the most cost-efficient ways to lower carbon emissions and the carbon prices required to make the projects economically viable. In 2010, Exelon expanded its analyses to include a wider perspective on possible industry response, especially as upcoming EPA rules are intended to dramatically cut air pollution from power plants. The analysis determined that participants in the 13-state mid-Atlantic power market in which Exelon operates, known as PJM, can remove around 60 million metric tons of carbon emissions per year with energy efficiency, coal plant retirements, new natural gas generation and nuclear uprates.

“The question facing the United States is not whether it should reduce air pollution and carbon emissions, but how to do so affordably, especially in light of current economic conditions,” said Rowe. “The pending suite of EPA regulations will help drive the transition to a cleaner energy future.”

A full 2010 update on the Exelon 2020 business and environmental strategy, including the analysis of the PJM, is available at exeloncorp.com.

Exelon Corporation is one of the United States’ largest electric utilities with annual revenues of more than $17 billion. The corporation maintains one of the largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity in the industry. Their reach is nationwide, and they hold strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Exelon distributes electric power to roughly 5.4 million clients in northern Illinois and southeastern Pennsylvania and natural gas to about 486,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.

Forward Looking Statements

Exelon’s press release included forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include those discussed herein as well as those discussed in (1) Exelon’s 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K in (a) ITEM 1A. Risk Factors, (b) ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation and (c) ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data: Note 18; (2) Exelon’s Third Quarter 2010 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q in (a) Part II, Other Information, ITEM 1A. Risk Factors, (b) Part I, Financial Information, Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and (c) Part I, Financial Information, ITEM 1. Financial Statements: Note 13; and (3) other factors discussed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Registrant. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this Current Report. The Registrants do not undertake any obligation to publicly release any revision to their forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

SOURCE: Exelon Corporation