Electric Utilities To Merge Updated 5:35 AM ET September 24, 1999

(CHICAGO) -- Unicom, the parent company of Commonwealth Edison, is merging with PECO Energy Company of Philadelphia to become the largest electric utility in the nation. Unicom Chairman John Rowe says the new Chicago-based company will immediately begin to improve ComEd's distribution service, which has been plagued by power outages. The utility expects to lay-off about five-percent of the consolidated work force, which totals more than 22-thousand employees. Rowe and PECO Chairman Corbin McNeill will both run the new company, which will provide electric power to five-Million customers.

So, is this good news or bad news? I seem to remember from a college Econ course that when you see a bunch of mergers, the ecomony in general or the business in particular is going downhill fast. Everyone in hte section of the country knows that ComEd has been plagued with outages. Now they are going to downsize the support staff - just when we need them most. AHHHHHHHHH!!! By the way, the next story was the merger of phone companies (Sprint and MCI). Are we seeing a trend here?

Terri

-- Anonymous, September 24, 1999

Answers

This is what happens when the government bails out nuclear plants from financial failure. Between the two companies, they were handed more than $10 Billion of rate payers money during electrical deregulation.

In the meantime GPU Nuclear is selling Oyster Creek for $10 million.

Peco and Com Ed have serious problems in management.

Peco had Y2k failures and earlier this year at Peach Bottom. Com Ed had plants taken off line for safety defects.

-- Anonymous, September 24, 1999

No. It's not. They both have much room for improvement.

Two losers doth not a winner make.

-- Anonymous, September 25, 1999