Plans to separate Baltimore Gas & Electric’s parent Constellation Energy Group into two publicly traded corporations remain on track for completion this year, Christian Poindexter, the company’s CEO, told shareholders at the end of last week.

“The precise timing of separation is dependent upon the decisions of the various agencies,” Poindexter said. He noted that a request has been filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to make the separation a tax-free event for the company’s shareholders and that an application has been filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has already given its blessing to the separation, and Constellation Energy is expected to file a detailed report with the Maryland Public Service Commission on May 9.

The new Constellation Energy Group will include the current holding company’s nuclear and fossil fuel electric generating plants, eight gas-fired plants under construction in seven other states and Constellation Nuclear, and its marketing and trading business Constellation Power Source. “We are anticipating investing more than $1 billion a year over the next several years to grow our portfolio of generating plants,” Poindexter said.

BGE Corp. will be a holding company with assets of $5.5 billion and with three core regional energy delivery and energy services subsidiary companies, including the regulated utility, Baltimore Gas & Electric, and BGE HOME and Constellation Energy Source, two non-regulated energy products and services businesses.

Meanwhile, the Constellation CEO also used the meeting with shareholders to tout the company’s recent earnings performance. “Despite the slowdown in the economy and the turmoil in California, we have a positive story to report,” he said. Poindexter noted that operating earnings for Constellation in the first quarter of 2001 came in at $0.68 per share, compared with $0.50 per share for the same quarter in 2000.

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