Power Markets Week

Pepco Energy Services late last week won a contract with the Dept. of Defense to supply 107 MW to several federal agencies in Maryland. PES valued the 17-month contract at $34 million, and said it would save the government $8 million compared with utility rates.

The contract begins this month, and comes as Maryland is set to lift the rate caps in July from the transition phase of its electric restructuring plan. For large commercial users, utility rates could rise as much as 57%, and a number of big customers have recently signed contracts with retail marketers.

PES will provide power to a variety of accounts, including the Navy Intelligence Command, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Institute for Defense Analysis, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. PES is a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, which also owns regulated utilities Pepco and Conectiv Power Delivery.