Advocates push back on profits as Exelon, BGE report latest earnings

MARYLAND (WBFF) — Exelon, the parent company of utilities like Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), Delmarva Power and Pepco, recently released its latest earnings information, showing a financial performance that “exceeded expectations.”

According to the earnings report, BGE’s net income increased from $527 million in 2024 to $578 million in 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2025, BGE’s net income increased to $180 million from $175 million during the same time period in 2024. A press release indicated the increase was “primarily due to distribution rates associated with updated recovery of investments to serve customers and impacts of the multi-year plan reconciliation, partially offset by an increase in interest expense.”

“Exelon’s financial performance in 2025 exceeded expectations, with full-year adjusted operating earnings of $2.77 per share, sustaining a 100% track record of annual outperformance as a standalone utility,” Exelon Chief Financial Officer Jeanne Jones said, via a press release.

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“It’s outrageous that BG&E is year after year, raking in record breaking profits while consumers are getting less,” Emily Scarr, a senior advisor with Maryland PIRG, said.

“We’ve said this for a while now that there’s a lot of wasteful spending that is driving up their profits and our delivery rates,” she added.

While many have criticized BGE’s spending, BGE officials have said they need to spend money on infrastructure to help modernize the gas system and prevent pipes from leaking or breaking. Officials argue it is necessary to maintain a safe and reliable system, especially considering the age of much of the infrastructure.

However, this latest earnings report comes as many residents are struggling to pay their energy bills due to rising supply and distribution rates, and dozens of BGE workers are expected to be laid off. BGE said 46 represented employees who are part of the reduction are trainees.

In a statement, the union representing BGE workers, IBEW Local 410, said, “By reducing the company’s internal workforce, BGE is increasingly reliant on expensive contractors, boosting profits and passing on added costs to customers while reducing system reliability and safety. In the face of record profits there’s no excuse not to build a strong team to manage the electric and gas systems their customers rely on.”

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A representative from IBEW Local 410 said they have documented proof contractors are not as responsive or reliable.

However, in a statement, a spokesperson from BGE disagreed with the union’s characterization about “reducing system reliability and safety,” calling it “categorically false,” pointing, in part, to the performance of the gas and electric systems during the extreme winter weather.

“BGE’s earnings reflect how efficiently we operate a regulated utility system,” a BGE spokesperson said in a statement. “They do not change what customers pay for supply and do not come at the expense of customer affordability. We are focused on delivering safe, reliable service as efficiently as possible, because operational efficiency directly benefits customers over time. We have worked hard to ensure our operating and maintenance costs have remained below inflation from 2024 through 2026, helping limit upward pressure on rates compared to what customers would have paid if costs had grown faster.”

BGE also said increased energy supply costs were driving higher bills, “which utilities like BGE do not control and do not profit from.” BGE’s spokesperson also said BGE’s recent “reduction in force will not increase contractor reliance or compromise system safety or reliability, nor will this step increase costs or drive future rate increases.”

“I’m not anti-utility,” Scarr said. “I understand the benefits of having a regulated monopoly, and that our utility should be partners with us in maintaining our infrastructure. However, when infrastructure costs skyrocket along with their profits, and our service goes down. There is fundamentally a problem.”