Maryland Office of People’s Counsel v. Maryland Public Service Commission

The Maryland Court of Appeals affirmed lower court decisions upholding the Maryland Public Service Commission’s (Commission’s) approval of Exelon Corporation’s acquisition of Pepco Holdings, Inc. and its utility subsidiaries. One of the issues raised on appeal concerned whether the Commission’s assessment of potential harms to renewable energy and distributed generation markets was arbitrary and capricious. The Court of Appeals found that the Commission’s findings supported its conclusion that harm to these markets was speculative. The Court of Appeals also noted that courts may consider “policy goals stated in pertinent statutes or regulations” in determining whether agency action is arbitrary and capricious. In this case, the court said relevant policy goals included combatting the threat of global warming. The court found that the Commission properly considered these issues pursuant to the legislative directive to take the public interest into account in assessing an acquisition.