Our Journey

As part of the Exelon family of companies, Pepco joined Exelon's ongoing commitment to protect the environment and take action to address climate change, when, in 2018, Exelon announced a goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its internal operations by 15 percent by 2022. This marked the third in a series of GHG commitments Exelon has undertaken, with the first two programs resulting in the avoidance of more than 67.8 million metric tons of GHG emissions -- the equivalent of taking 14.5 million vehicles off the road for a year.

In 2021, Exelon announced a new goal targeting a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 50 percent below 2015 levels by 2030, and net zero emissions by 2050. Pepco is on track to meet this GHG reduction target and is doing so by activities such as minimizing losses of SF6 from gas-insulated electrical equipment, investing in vehicle electrification and improving the energy efficiency of our buildings and other facilities.

In 2019, the Exelon Foundation, the company's nonprofit philanthropic organization, launched the Climate Change Investment Initiative, or 2c2i, to provide $20 million in direct monetary and in-kind support over 10 years to develop new technologies to mitigate GHG emissions and build resiliency to the impact of climate change within the areas served by Exelon's utility companies, including Pepco.

Pepco recently received approval of our EVSmart Program and Battery Storage Pilot Program  and offers an Energy Efficiency Program through EmPOWER MD, three major initiatives to help advance a clean energy future and further enhance reliability and resiliency for customers.

Our Commitment

Scientific studies demonstrate that in order to drive GHG emissions down to the level necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, actions must be taken to decarbonize all sectors of the economy. This includes increasing the energy efficiency of the built environment, rapidly driving down GHG emissions in the electric generation sector and using this clean electricity to power as much of the economy as possible – including transportation.

Pepco’s climate and clean energy strategy is aligned around these pillars of decarbonization, while advancing efficiency, resilience, equity, inclusion and innovation.

Our Approach

As an electric distribution company, Pepco does not own power plants to serve customers. Instead, in accordance with the policies of Maryland, Pepco purchases electricity on behalf of its customers from wholesale electricity providers. The electricity the company purchases meets the renewable energy goals and guidelines as established by the State of Maryland, including those established in the 2019 Maryland Clean Energy Jobs Act, and means that 50% of the electricity delivered to customers in Maryland will come from eligible renewable energy sources by 2030.

And, while Pepco does not own power plants, we know as a major employer and a company with a significant operational footprint and community presence we have a responsibility to take action.

That is why we have developed a plan that is:

• Action Oriented: focused on specific measures that we can take to reduce emissions, enhance resilience and improve local air quality
• Focused on Continuous Improvement: We will achieve our current 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal and are committed to driving down our GHG footprint even further, to achieve net zero emission by 2050  – and helping our customers and communities do the same
• Innovative: We will deliver innovative solutions to serve our customers, reduce GHG emissions economywide, and advance equity and opportunity for our communities.
• Replicable and Transparent: We will communicate our efforts so other companies can adopt similar programs and strategies; we will learn from our efforts and inform our public policy development and advocacy.
• Dynamic: We know that we don't have all the answers today; we will review and make adjustments to ensure we continue to make progress toward achieving the GHG reductions necessary to combat climate change and build resilience.

As part of Pepco Holdings, we're also developing similar commitments for our sister companies Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric.

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