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Maryland regulators approved Constellation Energy Group's sale to Chicago-based Exelon Corp. on Friday, setting the stage for Baltimore to lose its last Fortune 500 company to an out-of-state owner. Exelon promptly accepted the terms imposed by the Maryland Public Service Commission, which means the $7.9 billion deal is one huge step closer to completion. The PSC's approval came with several dozen conditions that largely mirrored concessions the companies had previously promised, most recently under a $1 billion settlement with Gov. Martin O'Malley and the state.

Maryland energy regulators are expected to issue a decision Friday on the proposed sale of Constellation Energy Group to Chicago-based Exelon Corp. The decision comes after the state Public Service Commission launched an exhaustive review of the $7.9 billion deal, involving 13 days of hearings, three public comment sessions and thousands of pages of documents. Analysts think that the proposed merger hinges on approval by Maryland regulators. The deal also still requires approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

As a BGE ratepayer, I'm strongly opposed to the Constellation-Exelon merger ("O'Malley praises Exelon-CEG deal," Dec. 16). For the third time since 2007, Constellation CEO Mayo Shattuck has been trying to engineer a buyout or merger of Constellation while doubling costs to BGE ratepayers, this time with a $13.4 million payday for himself. The primary legal responsibility of the Maryland Public Service Commission, as state Sens. E.J. Pipkin and James C. Rosepepe noted in a letter to agency, is to protect the best interests of BGE ratepayers.

By Maryland law, for the merger of Exelon and Constellation Energy to be permissible, it must be shown to cause no harm, and to benefit Baltimore Gas & Electric ratepayers and the public interest. Because, to date, Exelon has yet to offer a proposal that sufficiently meets these three thresholds, my administration cannot support the merger at this time. While the state of Maryland stands to lose 600 jobs post-merger, Constellation executives stand to make $34 million off the transaction.

I am a big fan of transparency and disclosure in government, but one of the leaps made in The Sun's recent article about contributions by certain companies to the Democratic Governor's Association is misleading and needs to be corrected. ("Firms with Md. interests give to Democratic group," Nov. 27.) After describing contributions by a company called Competitive Power Ventures, the article states that in "October, CPV got what it wanted" when the Maryland Public Service Commission ordered utilities to consider proposals for new power plants to be built in Maryland.

You might have seen the news footage of the guy in the orange construction vest who a couple of weeks back angrily yelled at the Occupy Baltimore encampment that he was "working his butt off to support you guys," apparently referring to the unemployed among them. If he really wanted to protest where his tax money may be going, he could have walked a couple of blocks from McKeldin Square. The findings of a new study indicate that because of corporate tax breaks, rebates and loopholes, many Fortune 500 companies pay little or no federal income taxes on their profits.

Top executives of Constellation Energy Group and Exelon Corp. faced questions about reliability, local management of Baltimore Gas and Electric, and corporate governance Monday at the start of what is expected to be an exhaustive regulatory review of the proposed $7.9 billion merger of the two energy giants. Constellation Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Mayo A. Shattuck III and Exelon Chief Operating Officer Christopher M. Crane took the stand together during daylong questioning by an attorney representing the state and the Maryland Energy Administration.

During an emotional hearing Friday, the Maryland Public Service Commission adopted new regulations intended to prevent accidental electrocutions like the one that killed 14-year-old Deanna Green at a church softball game in Druid Hill Park more than five years ago. The requirements will force state electric companies to find — and eliminate — dangerous "contact voltage" in public objects that can transmit electricity, such as streetlights, traffic...

Maryland energy regulators have added at least two more days to their review of Constellation Energy Group's plans to sell itself to Chicago-based Exelon Corp. The move brings the number of days allotted for evidentiary hearings to 11. The hearings are to begin Oct. 31. With 45 witnesses expected to testify, the Maryland Public Service Commission on Tuesday told the parties in the case to add Nov. 11 and 18 to their calendar. The commission also has set aside Nov. 21 and part of Nov. 22 if more time is needed, PSC spokeswoman Regina Davis said.

Gov. Martin O'Malley is pushing state energy regulators to consider renewable energy resources and to allow utilities to own plants again in their efforts to seek potential new power generation at cost-controlled prices. To prevent potential blackouts and reduce Maryland's reliance on out-of-state electricity, the Public Service Commission last month ordered the state's utilities, including Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., to seek proposals for companies that would build natural gas plants in return for guaranteed power purchases by the utilities.