Exelon Corp. and Constellation Monday announced that they have completed their $8 billion merger, making the combined company the second-largest residential electricity and natural gas distribution company in the nation.

The closure of the merger comes only days after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the deal. The Department of Justice and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission — as well as Maryland, New York and Texas regulators — all cleared the marriage, as have the shareholders of the two companies. The merger transaction was first announced in April 2011 (see Daily GPI, April 29, 2011).

The three utilities within the new company, which will retain the Exelon name, — Baltimore Gas and Electric, Commonwealth Edison and PECO Energy Co. — will serve 6.6 million natural gas and electric customers across three states: Maryland, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

The merged company will be the nation’s largest energy provider in terms of load — with about 164 terawatt hours — and customers, serving millions of businesses and households across 47 states, the District of Columbia and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario.

Exelon said it will serve more than two-thirds of America’s Fortune 100 companies. The company also will have one of the nation’s largest power generation fleets, with approximately 35,000 MW of owned power generation, including more than 19,000 MW of nuclear power.

Current Exelon president and CEO Christopher M. Crane will be president and CEO of the combined company, while Mayo A. Shattuck III, who is chairman and CEO of Constellation, will be executive chairman. The newly merged firm will remain headquartered in Chicago.

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