This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
Post-spinoff Exelon (pure-play regulated utility: ComEd, PECO, BGE, Pepco, Delmarva, ACE) has accumulated utility-specific regulatory failures independent of the nuclear operations transferred to Constellation Energy (CEG) in Feb 2022. NERC/FERC $1.8M penalty (2024): all six Exelon utility subsidiaries violated FAC-009-1 facility ratings standard, posing serious risk to bulk power system reliability. NERC found a "long-standing, systemic issue" with facility ratings and cited a prior FAC-008/9 violation as an aggravating factor. PECO improperly terminated electric service for 48,500+ customers (2018-2019) due to vendor oversight failures; PA PUC imposed $200K penalty plus ~$1M in refunds. DC Office of People's Counsel accused Pepco of misspending $94M from rate increases (2024-2025, ongoing). Maryland PSC rejected Pepco's multiyear rate plan, approving only 21% of requested increase. ICC repeatedly cut ComEd rate requests post-bribery, reflecting regulatory trust deficit.
Exelon’s subsidiary Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) engaged in a long-running political corruption scheme to influence legislation in Illinois. Between 2011 and 2019, ComEd arranged jobs, subcontracts, and payments for associates of a powerful state official, who in turn helped pass legislation favorable to the utility’s business. This scheme aimed to shield ComEd’s practices and secure regulatory and legislative outcomes, including rate increases and nuclear subsidy legislation.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Exelon and ComEd with fraud and violations of books and records and internal accounting controls provisions. In September 2023, Exelon and ComEd agreed to pay a $46.2 million penalty to settle the SEC’s charges. This followed a 2020 deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice, in which ComEd admitted to bribery and paid a $200 million fine. The SEC complaint detailed that the company failed to accurately record these corrupt payments, instead booking them as legitimate expenses for lobbying and other services.
Exelon and its subsidiary Commonwealth Edison paid $46.2 million to settle SEC fraud charges in September 2023 for concealing a multi-year political corruption scheme from investors. The SEC complaint detailed that ComEd corruptly influenced former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan by directing over $1.3 million in payments and benefits to his associates, in exchange for favorable legislation affecting the utility’s operations and rate structure.
This settlement was part of broader legal repercussions from the scheme. In a related class action, Exelon paid $173 million to investors in May 2023 for allegations it concealed the bribery. Overall, ViolationTracker documents Exelon’s penalty history includes $200 million for kickbacks and bribery across one case, alongside dozens of other environmental and consumer protection violations. The SEC’s action against a former Exelon executive signals the enforcement extended to individual accountability for the internal control failures that allowed the corruption.
Research Sources
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The Naughty List
A digest of changes to our exclusion list — new additions, removals, and the evidence behind them. We review the list continuously as new evidence surfaces.
Companies appear on our exclusion list based on our investment judgment — not because they've done anything illegal. This is a difference of values and opinion, not an accusation of wrongdoing. Exclusion does not constitute a recommendation against investing in any company, and absence from the list does not constitute a recommendation to invest.
This information is provided for educational and transparency purposes only and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Data is drawn from independent watchdogs, NGOs, government registries, and Ethical Capital's ongoing research — see Research Sources for the full list.
Ethical Capital LLC is a state-registered investment adviser in Utah (CRD #316032). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.