At a proceeding marred by hecklers and the arrest of five protesters, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission finalized a preliminary decision awarding PECO Energy Co. $1.1 billion of its requested $3.8 billion in stranded cost recovery (Docket R-00973877).
On May 8, by a 4-1 vote, the PUC issued a nonbinding order to allow PECO to refinance the $1.1 billion in stranded costs at lower interest rates through issuance of asset securitization bonds to be paid over 10 years.
The $1.1 billion approved for recovery consists of: $607.3 million in stranded generation costs; $372.9 million in regulatory assets; $96.1 million in deferred fuel costs; and $22 million in transaction costs.
The protesters likened stranded-cost recovery to "baloney," and reportedly disrupted the proceedings with an attempt to deliver a slice of luncheon meat to the commission.
PECO said the $3.8 billion sought in the proceeding is part of stranded investment totaling $6.7 billion. Stranded costs not approved for recovery will be considered in a separate investigation of PECO's restructuring plan, which was filed April 1. The plan is pending before a PUC administrative law judge.