---
title: "Exelon Gets $783 Million of Grid Work and No Clear Way to Get Paid"
description: "PJM raised the cost of already-approved transmission projects by about $783 million in Exelon's regions, against $60 million for Dominion and $25 million for PPL. Ahead of a October 30 earnings call, the question is whether regulators let that capital earn."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Power"
published: 2026-10-18T17:15:47.581Z
modified: 2026-10-18T17:15:47.581Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/exelon-gets-783-million-of-grid-work-and-no-clear-way-to-get-paid
language: en
keywords: "Exelon, PJM, Utilities, Transmission, Regulation, Grid"
---

# Exelon Gets $783 Million of Grid Work and No Clear Way to Get Paid

> PJM raised the cost of already-approved transmission projects by about $783 million in Exelon's regions, against $60 million for Dominion and $25 million for PPL. Ahead of a October 30 earnings call, the question is whether regulators let that capital earn.

PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for 13 states and Washington, D.C., [took cost revisions to its planning committee on October 15, 2026](https://www.rtoinsider.com/148557-pjm-regional-transmission-cost-adjustments-increase-hundreds-of-millions/), that raised already-approved transmission projects by about $783 million inside Exelon's regions, against $60 million inside Dominion's and $25 million inside PPL's [1]. [Exelon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/exelon-corporation)'s six regulated utilities, among them ComEd, PECO, BGE and Pepco, own those wires [2]. The spending lands on its books first. Whether it lands in earnings is the fight.

*Chart: **PJM's October cost revisions land almost entirely in Exelon's territory** Bar chart of PJM October 2026 cost adjustments to already-approved transmission projects: Exelon regions $783 million, Dominion $60 million, PPL $25 million*

*Revisions to projects approved in earlier Regional Transmission Expansion Plan windows, presented to PJM's Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee on October 15, 2026, by utility region. [1]*

## The build is running ahead of its payback

Exelon already spends like a company assured of repayment. Quarterly capital outlays have climbed from roughly $1.70 billion in mid-2024 to $2.20 billion in the second quarter of 2026, and [capex has exceeded operating cash flow in three of the last four quarters](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001109357) [3]. Second-quarter revenue was $5.97 billion, up 10 percent year over year, on $396 million of net income [4]. KeyBanc still [moved the stock up only to Sector Weight from Underweight on October 13](https://www.tradingview.com/news/seekingalpha:33039dfbb094b:0-utilities-american-electric-power-exelon-upgraded-at-keybanc/): analyst Sophie Karp cited Pennsylvania's withdrawn rate case and Maryland's retreat from forecast-based ratemaking as evidence that regulatory lag, the gap between spending and being repaid, is widening against Exelon's 5–7 percent annual earnings growth target [5]. [Goldman Sachs](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/goldman-sachs) kept a $44 Sell target on October 16 [6]. [Truist](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/truist-financial) held at $46, cut from $48 [7].

*Chart: **Exelon's quarterly capital spend is up about 30% in two years** Line chart of Exelon quarterly capital expenditures from Q3 2023 to Q2 2026, rising from about $1.7 billion to $2.2 billion with a peak of $2.43 billion in Q4 2025*

*Quarterly capital expenditures in USD billions, from Exelon's SEC filings; Q2 2026 capex of $2.2B ran ahead of $1.9B in operating cash flow. [3]*

## The bill has already reached the customer

The demand side argues for building. The October alerts were PJM's fourth such event of 2026, after May, July and September, and Exelon's BGE, Delmarva Power and Pepco spent October 14 [demanding an "all-hands-on-deck" push for more supply](https://dailyenergyinsider.com/news/54138-exelon-companies-call-for-all-hands-on-deck-supply-approach/) [8][9]. [A Department of Energy emergency order](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4653221-power-prices-top-1000-on-pjm-as-doe-issues-emergency-order-to-prevent-blackouts), in force from 13 through October 16, let PJM direct which plants run and tap backup generation [10]. Spot power at PJM's Western hub touched $1,021 per megawatt-hour on October 13 [10]. The EIA's October forecast has PJM wholesale prices up 41 percent this year [11], and District of Columbia household bills rose 7 percent on July 1 [12].

## Butler holds both ends of the rope

Chief executive Calvin Butler has argued both sides since September 17: "we are generation short," he said, and utilities "[should be allowed to get back into the game of generation](https://theinference.org/article/exelon-s-power-plant-comeback-plan-is-running-into-maryland-s-ratepayer-wall)" to bring costs down [12]. He also knows customers "don't care about any of that if they can't afford to pay that bill," which is why Exelon has put $60 million into relief funds [12].

## What October 30 decides

Fourteen of eighteen analysts rate the stock Hold, at an average target of $49.20 against the October 16 close of $43.50 [4]. The pressure to build will not wait for them: [FERC rejected PJM's plan to let data centers bring their own capacity](https://www.microgridknowledge.com/generation/news/55412276/interconnection-crossfire-pjm-grid-constraint-prompts-doe-emergency-order-as-ferc-rejects-bring-your-own-capacity-proposal) this month, and the 2028/29 capacity auction cleared 6.8 gigawatts below the reliability requirement [13]. Exelon [reports third-quarter results on October 30 at 10 a.m. Eastern](https://investors.exeloncorp.com/), with Butler and finance chief Robert Kleczynski [4]. The tell is whether the $783 million prints as growth in the rate base, the asset pool regulators allow a return on, or as capital waiting for recovery. PJM needs power Exelon does not generate, delivered on wires only Exelon can build, priced by regulators slow to raise the rate.

*Chart: **Wall Street's targets cluster within 13 percent of the stock** Bar chart of Exelon analyst price targets: Street average $49.20, Truist $46, Goldman Sachs $44, with the October 16 close of $43.50 shown as a reference line*

*Latest published price targets for Exelon (Nasdaq: EXC) in US dollars, from the October 13 to 17 round of rating actions, against the October 16 close of $43.50. Sources: TipRanks via The Globe and Mail; Seeking Alpha via TradingView; ad-hoc-news. [4][6][7]*

## Takeaway

PJM's October cost revisions put nearly all new transmission spend inside Exelon's territory, capex already outruns operating cash flow, and the October 30 earnings call turns on whether regulators let the $783 million earn a return.

## Sources

1. [RTO Insider, PJM Regional Transmission Cost Adjustments Increase by Hundreds of Millions of Dollars, 15 October 2026](https://www.rtoinsider.com/148557-pjm-regional-transmission-cost-adjustments-increase-hundreds-of-millions/)
2. [Exelon Corporation, Investor Relations (Q3 2026 earnings call notice and utility roster), accessed 18 October 2026](https://investors.exeloncorp.com/)
3. [Exelon Corporation, quarterly figures from its SEC filings (via company_series), retrieved 18 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001109357)
4. [ad-hoc-news, Exelon stock heads toward October 30 earnings date, 17 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/exelon-stock-heads-toward-october-30-earnings-date-at-nasdaq-focus/70348747)
5. [TradingView (Seeking Alpha), Utilities American Electric Power, Exelon upgraded at KeyBanc, 13 October 2026](https://www.tradingview.com/news/seekingalpha:33039dfbb094b:0-utilities-american-electric-power-exelon-upgraded-at-keybanc/)
6. [The Globe and Mail (TipRanks), Goldman Sachs Sticks to Their Sell Rating for Exelon, 16 October 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/EXC-Q/pressreleases/8096777/goldman-sachs-sticks-to-their-sell-rating-for-exelon-exc/)
7. [The Globe and Mail (TipRanks), Truist Financial Sticks to Its Hold Rating for Exelon, 17 October 2026](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/EXC-Q/pressreleases/8137216/truist-financial-sticks-to-its-hold-rating-for-exelon-exc/)
8. [Daily Energy Insider, Exelon companies call for 'all-hands-on-deck' supply approach, 17 October 2026](https://dailyenergyinsider.com/news/54138-exelon-companies-call-for-all-hands-on-deck-supply-approach/)
9. [PublicNow, BGE, Delmarva Power and Pepco Call for More Energy Supply to Protect Customers (Exelon release), October 2026](https://www.publicnow.com/view/DD46353776BA20A43A4EDCE67B0F7B1D0248D5A6)
10. [Seeking Alpha, Power prices top $1,000 on PJM as DoE issues emergency order to prevent blackouts, 14 October 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4653221-power-prices-top-1000-on-pjm-as-doe-issues-emergency-order-to-prevent-blackouts)
11. [U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, released 6 October 2026](https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/)
12. [The Washington Informer, PJM, DOE Declare Energy Grid Emergency Amid Record-Breaking Warm Temperatures, 14 October 2026](https://www.washingtoninformer.com/pjm-issued-emergency-grid-alerts/)
13. [Microgrid Knowledge, PJM Grid Constraint Prompts DOE Emergency Order as FERC Rejects 'Bring Your Own Capacity' Proposal, 15 October 2026](https://www.microgridknowledge.com/generation/news/55412276/interconnection-crossfire-pjm-grid-constraint-prompts-doe-emergency-order-as-ferc-rejects-bring-your-own-capacity-proposal)


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Exelon Gets $783 Million of Grid Work and No Clear Way to Get Paid — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/exelon-gets-783-million-of-grid-work-and-no-clear-way-to-get-paid