State, Constellation need to settle ASAP, Ehrlich says

March 20, 2008

Constellation Energy Group Inc. and Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration could be hammering out a deal to settle their dueling lawsuits as you read this blog post.

Former Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr. sure hopes the two sides will see eye-to-eye sooner rather than later. As he sees it, the lawsuits are “a loser for both parties and we hope it gets settled pretty quickly.”

Ehrlich was governor during the General Assembly’s special session in 2006 where the $386 million deal was sealed, but he wasn’t happy with it then, and he isn’t happy with it now.

“If the right thing would have been done in 2006 there wouldn’t be a lawsuit,” he told me.

In fact, Ehrlich vetoed the legislation in favor of giving customers $600 million, but only if Constellation’s merger with Florida Light & Power went through. As you might recall, that deal went up in smoke, which would have left ratepayers without any relief for the 72 percent rate hike.

What do you think? Was Ehrlich’s deal the better option?

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer

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Posted by The Daily Record | Filed Under Constellation Energy, ehrlich, energy, law | 6 Comments 

Constellation as a corporate citizen

March 7, 2008

Constellation Energy Group Inc. has landed on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2008 list, published by Corporate Responsibility Office magazine.

The Baltimore-based utility company ranks 55th on the list, leading to some questions about what constitutes a good corporate citizen.

Just how does CRO select its top performers? And, should a company that just filed suit against its home state be considered a good corporate citizen?

CRO said it worked with IW Financial, a research firm that specializes in environmental, social and governance issues, to rank large-cap companies from the Russell 1000 index in eight categories: climate change, employee relations, environment, financial, governance, human rights, lobbying and philanthropy.

When asked about the company’s recent lawsuit against the state, CRO’s Editor & Chief Dennis Schaal said without knowing the specifics of the case, he couldn’t say whether suing the state makes you a bad corporate citizen.

“We looked into major transgressions. I wouldn’t say that suing the state in and of itself is a violation of being a good corporate citizen,” Schaal said. “That certainly wasn’t on our radar.”

“Our vendor looked at major scandals that had taken place regarding people on the list and that one wasn’t brought up,” he said. “I’m sure some people are weighing in on [the list] and saying, ‘Wow that sucks.’”

So, what do you think? Should Constellation’s lawsuit against the state disqualify it from the 2009 list?

DANIELLE ULMAN, Business Writer

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Posted by The Daily Record | Filed Under Constellation Energy, business, energy | Leave a Comment 

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