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Exelon’s (EXC) PECO subsidiary in Pennsylvania has selected Comverge’s (COMV) Apollo Demand Response Management System to meet energy efficiency targets required by Pennsylvania Act 129.  For the next 3 years Comverge will provide full turnkey services including call center services and includes the installation of nearly 150K energy management devices.  This will be largest demand response deployment in Pennsylvania.  PECO was one of the six recipients of the largest DOE grant of $200 million for the advancement of the smart grid.  You might remember I posted about Centerpoint Energy finalizing its $200 million grant a few days ago.  This PECO deal should be the first of many wins for the smart grid/demand response companies such as COMV, ELON, ENOC, ITRI, etc.

PECO director Frank Jiruska commented on the deal: “The PECO Smart Ideas suite of programs are part PECO’s ongoing efforts to help customers save energy and money.  To meet that commitment to customers, we needed a partner that could cost effectively deliver a comprehensive and proven platform to support both our current and future energy efficiency initiatives. After careful evaluation, Comverge was a clear choice given the scale and scope of our programs. Their experience and presence in the region, combined with the breadth of their turnkey services, will help us empower our customers with the information they need to reduce energy consumption and ultimately save money.”

This news was released yesterday and contributed to a small pop in COMV shares, but like the overall market gave back the gains by the end of the day. 

Uranerz just announced that it has signed a uranium supply contract with Exelon Generation Company, LLC. The contract covers a 5-year period includes defined pricing each year. In the announcing the deal, no other details about the agreement were forthcoming. If you have more information about the terms, feel free to leave a comment!

However, Uranerz investors will probably be happy to know that the company continues to look for other uranium sales agreements to improve its portfolio, seeking a balance between fixed price contracts and market-related contracts.

>>> Click Here For Your Free Exelon Analysis

The nine month takeover drama between NRG Energy and Exelon Corporation is over. NRG shareholders voted to reject the bid yesterday by refusing to elect Exelon’s nominees for NRG’s Board of Directors. They also refused to expand the size of NRG’s Board to include additional Exelon candidates. According to NRG, 75% of its shareholders voted against Exelon.

In an article in the New York Times, Exelon’s CEO John W. Rowe made the following comment:

“The NRG shareholders have spoken, and Exelon will move on.”  He said he was unwilling to raise the offer to a level that would “undermine Exelon’s own value proposition.”

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>>> Click Here For Your Free Exelon Corp Analysis

The takeover drama between Exelon Corp and NRG Energy may finally come to a close today, as shareholders from NRG gather to vote on whether to not to elect Exelon’s chosen directors to NRG’s Board.

If the directors are not elected, Exelon will walk, and eventuality that is looking increasingly likely according to Reuters.

Right now, Exelon is offering 0.545 Exelon shares per NRG share. NRG has said it believes the offer is too low, and more importantly, so has each one of the four proxy advisory firms advising shareholders.

In the Reuters article referenced above, James Halloran, an energy consultant for Financial American Securities, was pessimistic about Exelon’s chances:

“The market’s betting that it won’t go through, and the market is usually pretty smart on these things. I don’t see any indication that this is anything more than trying to keep a brave face on this thing at this point.”

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>>> Click Here For Your Free Exelon Corp Analysis

NRG Energy just announced that its Board of Directors has rejected Exelon’s revised offer for the company. The vote was unanimous and was based on the belief that Exelon is undervaluing NRG, even with its revised offer, with was equivalent to $27 per share. NRG’s Board sent a letter to Exelon calling the revised offer a “step in the right direction” and explaining the specific areas in which the company believes it is being undervalued, which include its purchase of Reliant Energy, its nuclear capabilities and its green energy capabilities.

The letter closed with a strong message to Exelon: If you want a deal, you’ll make us an offer we can’t refuse. Here’s an excerpt from the letter, which is available here as part of press release: 

“These value enhancing developments add to NRG’s financial strength which your revised offer does not yet appreciate or properly value. NRG is a Company that is on track to produce annual EBITDA for 2009 of $2.5 billion, which represents a compound annual growth rate in EBITDA over the past six years of 21% with a recurring free cash flow yield of 23%. It is the unanimously held view of NRG’s Board of Directors that such a company is worth significantly more than the $27 per share that your July 2^nd offer represents.

As we told you when we first met last September, NRG is open to any proposal that properly reflects NRG’s fundamental value and extraordinary growth prospects. If you wish to pursue a possible combination with NRG in a more cooperative fashion, you should increase your July 2nd offer by an amount that properly reflects the specific value of the NRG initiatives, especially in light of the additional information provided today. Our management team then would be pleased to sit down with you or your economists and consultants to validate and quantify the combination synergies summarized in your July 2nd presentation and to demonstrate further the full value of NRG’s exceptional operating franchise and its unique growth initiatives so that Exelon could provide a reasonable measure of that value to NRG’s stockholders. “

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>>> Click Here For Your Free Exelon Analysis

Exelon just announced that is will be slashing 500 jobs as part of a company-wide cost-cutting campaign. As a result, the utility expects to post a charge of $40 million in the second quarter of this year, but will save $350 million in 2010 in operating and maintenance costs.  Most of the positions being eliminated are in corporate support, but the program will also affect executive-level employees by freezing salaries and changing compensation plans.

In the Wall Street Journal, Exelon’s Chairman and CEO John Rowe commented on the program:

"The aggressive steps we are announcing today will enable Exelon to continue to perform at a very high level," said Chairman and Chief Executive John Rowe. "By rethinking our executive team structure and streamlining corporate support functions, we will increase both our efficiency and our focus on operational excellence."

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Exelon just announced that support for its $6.2 billion bid to takeover NRG Energy appears to have waned among NRG shareholders. Exelon still wants to take over the company, but in a letter to NRG shareholders, it advised that only about 12% of NRG’s outstanding shares had been tendered, a big drop from February’s statistic of 51%. The two companies are counting down to a crucial NRG stockholder’s meeting on July 21, when shareholders will vote on Exelon’s proposal to expand NRG’s board with Exelon-backed candidates.

According to Reuters, Exelon is neither surprised nor alarmed. William Von Hoene, Exelon’s general counsel, is quoted in the article, saying "Investors typically withdraw tendered shares between expiration dates, and do not re-tender until very close to the next scheduled expiration date."

However, NRG says the drop in support is due to the drop in the premium that Exelon is offering for its shares, only 3% as opposed to the 37% premium the offer was worth when it was originally made in October.

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::: >>> Click Here For Your Free NRG Energy Analysis

According to Reuters, Exelon Energy Co just announced that it has signed a uranium supply deal with Tenex, a Russian nuclear fuel exporter owned by the Russian government. Under the terms of the agreement, Tenex will supply Exelon with uranium for nuclear energy for a period of six years, from 2014 to 2020.

The amounts of uranium involved were not disclosed. Nor were the financials of the deal.

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Exelon and Sunpower just announced that they will work together to build the largest urban PV plant in the country in Chicago. The plant, which will be capable of generating 10MW of solar power, should be up and running by the end of this year. The plant will be located on a brownfield property, putting that property back into productive use.

The plans hinge on Exelon receiving money from the federal stimulus program for the project. The company is seeking a loan guarantee for 80% of the project’s estimated $60 million cost. If the loan is approved, Sunpower will create, manufacture and construct the plant, while Exelon will own the plant and market the plants’ green energy.

In an article on SustainableBusiness.com, Exelon Chairman and CEO John W. Rowe commented on the project:

“As a provider of electrical service in urban areas, we understand the importance of finding urban locations for renewable energy and we are pleased to bring the largest urban solar installation to West Pullman, helping to revitalize an area where industry once thrived.”

And another installment in the drama between NRG and Exelon…NRG Energy, struggling to defend itself from a hostile takeover by Exelon, has filed a lawsuit against Exelon. In the suit, NRG claims that Exelon’s offer to NRG shareholders was a "sham" intended to compel NRG to negotiate and that Peco Energy customers could see a dramatic increase in their electric bills in the event of a takeover.

Here are more details on the suit from Philadelphia Business Today:

The risk, according to the London Economics International L.L.C. paper being made available today, is that the credit ratings on Exelon and certain of its subsidiaries could be cut because of the heavy debt load required to complete the deal. That would force the Chicago company to pay more to borrow and possibly divert money from its regulated utilities, such as Peco.

Exelon immediately fired back via a spokesperson, saying  that the paper "appears to be yet another off-base allegation by NRG in a desperate attempt to thwart Exelon’s acquisition effort in the face of demonstrable support by NRG shareholders."