By
Calvin Butler

President and CEO of Exelon

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

My nearly 20 year career at Exelon—one of America’s largest utility companies—has reinforced for me the immense responsibility of providing more than 10 million customers with reliable, affordable gas and electric service. It has also made me acutely aware of the impact of rising, unpredictable energy costs on those we serve.

Families and businesses across the country are already strained by rising prices and financial uncertainty and increasing energy costs are part of that frustration. We understand and share their frustrations. It’s why Exelon launched a $50 million Customer Relief Fund to provide direct financial support to customers in need while advancing long-term solutions, such as regulated generation, which enhances our ability to provide customers with reliable energy while keeping bills as low as possible and still achieving climate goals.

As global climate leaders gather in New York for Climate Week to address our most urgent environmental challenges, it’s essential that energy discussions prioritize affordability and investments that prepare our grid for the future rather than reinforce outdated approaches that leave customers behind.

Energy Supply Challenges

Our current energy infrastructure is unprepared for the coming moment. Roughly 70 percent of transmission lines are more than 25 years old and quickly approaching the end of their typical 50- to 80-year life cycle. This aging infrastructure will not be able to support the coming surge in electricity demand, which is projected to grow more than 50 percent by 2050. These factors—compounded by price increases for power generation—demonstrate why we need to act now to strengthen our energy infrastructure.

Energy companies are doing their part by investing in a more innovative, efficient, and cleaner grid. At Exelon, we’re planning to invest $38 billion through 2028 in projects that strengthen and future-proof infrastructure across our operating areas.

But without more energy sources, we still won’t be able to address the central supply challenge that is driving up prices. Without more energy, costs will remain high and increase as demand surges. Current state laws prevent utilities like ours from creating the energy our customers need. Regulated generation is a solution allowing Exelon and other utilities to produce the energy our markets demand, with regulators ensuring we follow best practices and advance a state’s goals.

Through regulated generation, we can deliver cost relief and predictability to customers by building a flexible, reliable energy supply and storage ecosystem. Today’s systems aren’t ready for the challenges we face, and regulated generation is a critical step toward a stronger energy network.

Affordable, Clean Energy Future

Regulated generation will help reduce costs, lead to stronger long-term certainty for customers and better integration of new energy sources and technologies in line with state climate goals. More than 30 states currently follow a model of regulated generation, and its impact on customer prices and stability is clear. From 2012 to 2021, states that did not allow regulated generation saw price increases that were 80 percent more than increases in states where utilities could produce and deliver electricity to meet customer needs.

Empowering utilities through regulated generation would also allow us to invest directly in clean energy sources like wind, solar, and battery storage to establish a strong mix that aligns with each state’s climate priorities.

For customers, this means predictable, lower costs, and trust that a strong, modern energy grid can withstand future demand and extreme weather events. We can’t build a clean, affordable energy future on yesterday’s systems. That’s why we need durable solutions and investments that match the urgency of today’s uncertain global market and the challenges it brings.

This moment presents a clear choice. Either we cling to a system that isn’t working, or we allow utilities to best serve customers by building the clean, affordable energy the future demands.

Calvin Butler is president and chief executive officer of Exelon, one of the nation’s largest utility companies, and chair of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the national association of investor-owned electric companies representing more than 10 million customers.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

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