Commonwealth

Despite recently proposing a massive $15 billion merger ofequals between Commonwealth Edison parent Unicom and Peco Energy,Unicom CEO John W. Rowe still has an appetite for growth. Hebelieves the combined company would need to get bigger in certainareas to remain competitive.

Despite recently proposing a massive $15 billion merger ofequals between Commonwealth Edison parent Unicom and Peco Energy,Unicom CEO John W. Rowe still has an appetite for growth. Hebelieves the combined company still needs to get bigger in certainareas to remain competitive.

The merger of Commonwealth Edison of Chicago parent Unicom Corp.and Philadelphia-based PECO Energy Co. will create a company so bigit will take two CEOs to run it, at least initially.

The merger of Commonwealth Edison of Chicago parent Unicom Corp.and Philadelphia-based PECO Energy Co. will create a company so bigit will take two CEOs to run it, at least initially.

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) closed an hour earlyyesterday, due to a power outage on the western loop area ofCommonwealth Edison’s (ComEd) power supply system. Thomas Donovan,CEO of the CBOT, said the outage was caused by three out of fourtransformers in the West Loop being out of service. ComEd did notreturn phone calls. The outage left 2,300 people in the heart ofChicago without power. Although no gas contracts are traded at theCBOT, the two electricity contracts traded at the exchange wereclosed at 2 p.m. EST. The exchange said its open outcry marketswill open normally today, and its electric trading system, ProjectA, is scheduled to open at 8 a.m. (Chicago time). There was noovernight trading at the CBOT.

Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) parent Unicom is planning a shoppingspree that could include one or several major gas or waterdistribution companies or a communications company, Unicom Chairmanand CEO John W. Rowe said this week at the company’s annualmeeting.

Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) parent Unicom is planning a shoppingspree that could include one or several major gas or waterdistribution companies or a communications company, Unicom Chairmanand CEO John W. Rowe said this week at the company’s annualmeeting.

Oral arguments by the owner of the Sears Tower, and QST Energyagainst Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) were heard yesterday by theIllinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Tower Leasing and QST arefighting ComEd’s refusal to allow installation of a cogenerationsystem at the tower that would save tenants an estimated $2 millionor more a year in energy costs. So far, ComEd has refused to allowQST to acquire or lease Edison’s distribution system inside theSears Tower, a prerequisite to installing the cogeneration (seeNGI May 5, 1997).

The fate of open access for natural gas and electricityregulation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania may be largelydecided this week if, as rumored, Gov. Tom Ridge names areplacement for trail-blazing Public Utilities Commissioner JohnHanger.