Potomac Electric Power Company history

In June 1901, the company filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by the Washington Railway and Electric Company.

In 1906, the company began construction of the first unit of the Benning Road Power Plant, along the Anacostia River.

By 1912 PEPCO President Clarence P. King boasted two power plants and eight substations.

By the end of 1914 PEPCO was running 24,818 meters and had 8,215 street lamps. It had surpassed $2 million in revenues, and its connected load--excluding railways--was 58,776 kilowatts, 6,522 kilowatts more than it had in 1913.

By the end of 1914 PEPCO was running 24,818 meters and had 8,215 street lamps.

In 1928, the North American Company, a holding company that owned many public utilities, gained control of Washington Railway and Electric.

In 1929 it surpassed $10 million in sales for the first time.

When its last unit was completed in 1931, the power plant had a 185,000-kilowatt capacity.

Finally, in December 1946, North American distributed PEPCO shares to its stockholders.

A years-long legal battle ensued, culminating in a Supreme Court decision upholding the order. As a result, Pepco's stock was distributed to Washington Railway's shareholders in December 1947, making Pepco an independent, publicly traded company.

In 1949 PEPCO completed construction of the 80,000-kilowatt first unit of its Potomac River plant.

Three years later R. R. Dunn, who became president of PEPCO in 1951, reincorporated the company under the new District of Columbia Business Corporation Act.

In 1954, revenue exceeded $50 million for the first time.

Units were added throughout 1957, ultimately giving the plant a capacity of 499,000 kilowatts.

With an initial capacity of 175,000 kilowatts, Dickerson grew to 570,000 kilowatts when the last unit was installed in 1962.

The company was able to lower rates despite summer peak periods, which forced it to add more capacity, including the 365,000-kilowatt Chalk Point Generating Station, completed in 1965.

PEPCO's financial situation changed dramatically in 1969, when rising construction costs squeezed earnings and caused PEPCO Chairman Dunn and President Stephen R. Woodzell to suspend cash dividends and declare a three and one-eighth percent stock dividend for the year's last two quarters.

By the beginning of 1970 they were able to reinstitute PEPCO's cash dividend, albeit at a somewhat lower rate.

In 1971 the PEPCO board elected Carolina Power & Light executive W. Reid Thompson president and chief executive officer (CEO) of PEPCO. Thompson was a smart executive constantly searching for ways to reduce costs and increase profits.

On July 2, 1973, PEPCO filed a 15-volume application with the Atomic Energy Commission for a construction permit, which covered the Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station in Charles County, Maryland, some 30 miles south of Washington.

In PEPCO's 1980 annual report, Thompson called 1980 'one of the best years in our company's history.' One of the reasons for PEPCO's renewed financial health was its 85 percent reliance on coal, which had a cost increase of only 6 percent in 1980, while the cost of oil increased by 45 percent.

By 1982 PEPCO was ranked 73rd of 75 major electric utilities in terms of planned construction expenditures as a percentage of existing capital investment.

By 1985 the investment arm of PEPCO was active in the leveraged equipment lease financing market and was leasing such goods as a Boeing 747 aircraft and satellite communications equipment.

In 1989 Mitchell took on the additional title of chief executive officer, succeeding Thompson.

In 2001, the company was reorganized and became a unit of Pepco Holdings.

In 2003, the holding company took over Pepco's investment subsidiary.

In 2014, Pepco Holdings agreed to be acquired by Exelon for $6.8 billion.