Well, now we know the “why” — it was to enable power companies to sell to highest bidder without regard for local or regional ‘public interest’ or duty — the sell-out was a necessary first-step in allowing Datacenters to loom large and command power and water in areas previously controlled solely by residential interests.
Electrical Gluttony. Water Consumption. Noise Pollution. Ground Vibration. Powerline Harmonics. Incessant Toxic Badness.
10+part sourced Series deeply explores the Many Serious Ill-Effects of Datacenters.
This is not us merely saying these things are or may be so; instead, every statement is sourced by scientific studies, published experiences, harmed victims. Intelligence requires learning from own mistakes. Wisdom involves learning from others’ mistakes.
“A 2026 power-engineering study found that hyperscale data centers behave not merely as electrical loads, but as vast power-electronics systems whose rapidly fluctuating server demands can excite grid oscillations and propagate disturbances across interconnected networks. Far from a fringe “dirty electricity” claim, the research suggests data centers may interact with the power grid in ways fundamentally different from traditional industrial facilities, raising serious new concerns about resonance, stability, reliability.”
- The “Pepco generating station” ownership story is basically the Maryland/DC electric deregulation + Pepco generation divestiture story. Important correction: Pepco itself was already a private investor-owned utility. What changed was that Pepco’s regulated power plants were removed from the regulated utility model and sold/shifted into merchant/private generation ownership.
Chain of ownership
1. Pepco / Potomac Electric Power Co. Pepco built and owned the regional generating fleet, including:
- Chalk Point — Prince George’s County, MD
- Dickerson — Montgomery County, MD
- Morgantown — Charles County, MD
- Potomac River Generating Station — Alexandria, VA
- Benning Road — Washington, DC
- Buzzard Point — Washington, DC
- Partial interest in Conemaugh plant in PA
- 2. Southern Energy / Southern Company On December 19, 2000, Pepco completed sale of most generating assets to Southern Energy, Inc.
for about $2.75 billion. Sold to Southern Energy: - Chalk Point
- Dickerson
- Morgantown
- Potomac River
- Forestville generation maintenance facility
- related PPAs / assets Pepco’s DC plants, Benning and Buzzard Point, were transferred to an unregulated Pepco
subsidiary but operated by Southern Energy. Source:
https://www.power-eng.com/operations-maintenance/pepco-completes-sale-of-power-plants-for-275-billion/
- 3. Mirant Southern Energy was the company that became Mirant. Southern Company spun Mirant off in April
2001. Source: https://southerncompany.mediaroom.com/index.php?item=1591&s=34171 So the practical chain was: Pepco → Southern Energy → Mirant
- 4. GenOn In 2010, Mirant merged with RRI Energy to form GenOn Energy. Mirant + RRI Energy → GenOn
- 5. NRG In December 2012, NRG Energy completed its merger/acquisition of GenOn, creating a very large
competitive power generator. Source:
https://investors.nrg.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nrg-and-genon-complete-merger-creating-nations-largest
- 6. GenOn separation / bankruptcy aftermath GenOn later went through Chapter 11 and emerged in 2018 as a reorganized company no longer
owned by NRG. Source:
https://www.genon.com/genon-news/2018/12/14/genon-completes-reorganization-and-emerges-from-chapter-11-with-new-management-team-and-board-of-directors So simplified full chain: Pepco
→ Southern Energy / Southern Company
→ Mirant
→ GenOn
→ NRG
→ reorganized GenOn / GenOn-related entities for some assets
- Why was it done? The official reason was electric restructuring / deregulation. Maryland’s Electric Customer Choice and Competition Act of 1999 separated electric service
into: - generation/supply,
- transmission,
- distribution. The stated goals were:
- customer choice,
- competitive electricity supply markets,
- deregulation of generation pricing,
- economic benefits for customers,
- environmental compliance. A Maryland court summary says the goals were to establish customer choice, create competitive
retail supply markets, deregulate generation/supply/pricing, provide economic benefits, and
ensure environmental standards. - Source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/md-court-of-appeals/1011547.html Pepco’s own SEC filing said its plan was to exit the electricity generating business and
become mainly a transmission/distribution utility, with customers able to choose suppliers. Source:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/79732/000007973200000006/0000079732-00-000006-d19.html Pepco CEO John Derrick described the sale as part of transforming Pepco from a regulated
integrated utility into a diversified company selling/delivering electricity, gas, telecom,
and related services.
- Who was in power? Maryland The key law passed in 1999.
- Governor: Parris Glendening, Democrat
- Lt. Governor: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
- Senate President: Thomas V. “Mike” Miller Jr.
- House Speaker: Casper R. Taylor Jr. Glendening signed the deregulation law. He later publicly acknowledged signing the Electric
Customer Choice and Competition Act of 1999. Source:
https://marylandmatters.org/2024/02/14/parris-glendening-time-to-hold-consumer-retail-energy-suppliers-accountable/ District of Columbia DC had its own retail electric restructuring proceeding, Formal Case No. 945, and enacted
retail competition legislation in December 1999. - Mayor: Anthony Williams
- DC Council Chair: Linda Cropp
- DC was also still in the post-financial-control-board era, so the Control Board appears in
the approval path. Pepco’s SEC filing says DC customer choice legislation was enacted by the City Council in
December 1999 and was pending Control Board/mayoral approval. Bottom line The chain was: Pepco plants
→ sold under deregulation
→ Southern Energy
→ Mirant
→ GenOn
→ NRG / reorganized GenOn entities The stated reason was: competition, customer choice, lower prices, and separating generation
from regulated wires service. The practical effect was: Pepco stopped being an integrated power producer/distributor and
became mostly a wires/distribution utility, while the plants became merchant generation assets
owned by independent power companies.
Yes — Exelon is in the chain, but mostly on the Pepco utility ownership side, not the old
Pepco power-plant ownership chain.
## Corrected split
### Pepco utility / wires company chain
Potomac Electric Power Co. / Pepco
→ Pepco Holdings, Inc. / PHI
→ Exelon
Exelon acquired Pepco Holdings in 2016, which included:
- Pepco
- Delmarva Power
- Atlantic City Electric So today Pepco is an Exelon utility subsidiary. Pepco generating plants chain The actual generating stations Pepco sold in 2000 mostly went: Pepco generation assets
→ Southern Energy
→ Mirant
→ GenOn
→ NRG
→ reorganized GenOn / successor plant owners So Exelon did not inherit those old Pepco plants through the PHI acquisition, because Pepco
had already divested generation years earlier under deregulation. Simple summary - Exelon owns Pepco the utility.
- Exelon generally did not get the old Pepco generation fleet, because those plants had been
sold off to Southern Energy/Mirant before Exelon bought PHI.