Philadelphia, May 1, 2026, 08:09 EDT
- Pennsylvania’s utility commission is being urged by IBEW Local 614 to look into PECO’s maintenance and repair practices, after the union documented issues with damaged poles, wires, and equipment.
- Just days after Exelon shifted PECO CEO David Vahos into an advisory post, the company tapped Mike Innocenzo as interim chief at PECO, as the safety fight erupts.
- PECO pushes back on the union’s allegations, saying the filing simply reflects contract negotiations that have hit an impasse.
Just days after Mike Innocenzo returned to lead Exelon’s Philadelphia utility, PECO, a union for the company’s workers is urging state utility regulators to open a probe into the electric distribution system. The request steps up pressure on PECO as questions swirl around its management shake-up.
On Thursday, IBEW Local 614—representing roughly 1,400 PECO employees—submitted a petition to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. The union is pushing the commission, which regulates utility rates and service statewide, to scrutinize PECO’s repair methods. According to WHYY, the petition features close to 100 photos showing what the union describes as damaged utility poles, faulty wires, deteriorated or absent cross arms, and loose transformers.
Timing comes into play here. PECO has its hands full: it pulled back a rate hike proposal, is heading into labor negotiations with employees still without a contract since March 31, and just switched out its chief executive, even though David Vahos only stepped in less than a year ago. For a regulated utility, safety, reliability, and affordability issues don’t show up in isolation—they usually hit together.
PECO, the Exelon subsidiary, announced April 21 that Vahos is stepping into a special adviser role to Exelon’s President and CEO Calvin Butler. In the meantime, Exelon COO Mike Innocenzo—who previously led PECO as president and CEO from 2018 through 2024—takes on the interim president and CEO position, still juggling his Exelon responsibilities. “I am honored to once again lead PECO,” Innocenzo said, promising the company will stay committed to “operational excellence” and keeping energy affordable. Business Wire
Union leaders at a Grays Ferry news conference flagged aging infrastructure, warning some of the equipment poses risks for workers and the community. “Splintered and rotting” cross arms, unstable poles, and damaged wires are part of the daily reality, said Larry Anastasi, president and business manager of Local 614. According to the union, surveys turned up 28 potentially hazardous poles out of 100 checked in Marcus Hook, while 50 out of 300 poles in North and West Philadelphia made the hazardous list. WHYY
PECO isn’t having it. COO Nicole LeVine told WHYY the company “strongly disagrees” with accusations that it overlooks repairs in low-income areas. She pointed to more infrastructure upgrades in the last five years and called 2025 one of PECO’s best years for reliability. Over that stretch, the company swapped out 67,000 poles and 97,000 cross arms. WHYY
PECO pushed back against the union’s claims, calling them “baseless” and “utterly false,” KYW Newsradio reported. The company insisted safety and reliability are still priorities and said it plans to respond through regulatory and legal paths, including with the PUC. Audacy
This fight stretches beyond just poles and cables. According to NBC10, both PECO and Local 614 have hit each other with unfair labor practice complaints at the National Labor Relations Board, which referees these kinds of disputes. Local 614 claims PECO isn’t bargaining in good faith. PECO, for its part, accuses the union of sticking to a “take-it-or-leave-it” stance. NBC10 Philadelphia
PECO has a major grid investment effort underway. Back in December, the company announced Pennsylvania regulators had signed off on its third electric long-term infrastructure plan—a five-year, $1.97 billion push to bolster reliability. Over the next five years, PECO expects to pour nearly $10 billion into its system, covering items like corrective maintenance, inspections, and keeping vegetation in check.
Affordability, though, is proving the bigger hurdle. PECO pulled its March rate hike plan after Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers pushed back; the proposal was set to lift typical residential electric bills by 12.5% and gas bills by 11.4% beginning in 2027. Back then, Vahos maintained PECO stood by the filing, saying it would fund safe, reliable service—but acknowledged families were feeling squeezed by everyday costs.
Roughly 1.7 million electric customers and 553,000 natural gas customers across southeastern Pennsylvania rely on the company—the largest utility for both in the state. Its results line up with peers under the Exelon umbrella, like ComEd, BGE, and Pepco, where regulators weigh reliability, capital investment, and what appears on customers’ bills.
PECO faces the possibility that the PUC might decide to look deeper, which would limit how much management can lean on the “more investment fixes reliability” defense. For the union, the hazard isn’t the same—their gamble is that regulators could see the petition as just a bargaining chip in their ongoing contract dispute, unless clear evidence surfaces of a broader system issue. So far, no regulator has said that’s the case.
Innocenzo steps in with three headaches already on his desk: there’s a safety complaint, a labor standoff and a pulled-back rate case. None of these issues is insurmountable alone, but stacked up, they complicate PECO’s pitch for what comes next.
