PECO announces new leadership following controversial rate hike and stalled union negotiations

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PECO announced Tuesday that its president and CEO, David Vahos, will become “special advisor” to Exelon’s president and CEO, Calvin Butler. The utility’s COO, Mike Innocenzo, who served as company president and CEO between 2018 and 2024, will fill Vahos’ role on an interim basis.

Vahos has been in the position for less than a year, starting in June 2025. The shift comes on the heels of a controversial rate hike proposal in March that followed record profits for the company, propelled by its 2025 rate increase. In an unprecedented move last week, PECO withdrew the proposal after pressure from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who referred to the planned increases as “pure greed.”

Responding to Shapiro’s comments at the time, the company initially stood by its position, saying the 12.5% electricity and 11.4% planned rate hike was necessary for “maintaining a safe and reliable energy system amid growing demand, more frequent severe weather, and aging infrastructure.”

A week later, the company announced it would withdraw the rate request due to “affordability issues.”

“While our filing with the PUC would have provided needed improvements in safe and reliable energy delivery, we recognize that Pennsylvanians are struggling with basic necessities like gas, food, and energy and have decided to withdraw our proposal,” Vahos said in a statement at the time.

A PECO spokesperson did not explain why Vahos is no longer CEO but said the shift in leadership and the rate cases are “separate matters.”

“The decision to withdraw PECO’s rate cases reflects continued and meaningful dialogue with customers, community partners, policymakers, and other stakeholders, and a clear concern about affordability at a time when households and businesses are facing sustained financial pressures from rising everyday costs,” PECO spokesperson Candice Womer said in an email.

“PECO has a number of opportunities and challenges ahead, and Mike Innocenzo’s deep experience and leadership in the region will strongly benefit our customers as we remain focused on safety, reliability, and delivering on the Exelon Promise to keep bills as low as possible,” Womer said.

PECO serves 1.7 million electricity users in Southeastern Pennsylvania, along with more than 553,000 gas customers in suburban Philadelphia.

In a statement, Innocenzo thanked Vahos “for his continued commitment to our customers, communities and employees, and for his leadership of the energy transformation.”

In 2025, Calvin Butler, Exelon president and CEO, earned $15.6 million.

Meanwhile, negotiations between the company and its union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 614, have stalled. The union, which represents about 1,500 employees, has been working without a contract for three weeks and has filed unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, including one this week claiming the company did not show up for a bargaining session.

Larry Anastasi, Local 614 business manager, criticized current leadership as the “first iteration of PECO management that ever failed to meet us on a fair contract,” saying that management has recently not shown up for bargaining sessions. “We hope that this change in leadership signals a change in approach to bargaining as well and that the company will come to the table to negotiate with the union in good faith.”

PECO has responded with its own unfair labor practice complaint. A PECO statement said the union “at the eleventh hour … unilaterally insisted on virtual bargaining”

“Union leadership’s conduct at the table has been reprehensible,” the statement says. “Despite this conduct, we remain ready and available to meet and continue discussions. We are eager to move forward, because we are focused, as always, on our customers.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include PECO’s comments about the ongoing union negotiations, and in an earlier version, Larry Anastasi’s name was misspelled. It has been corrected.

Disclosure: PECO is among WHYY’s financial supporters. WHYY News produces independent, fact-based news content for audiences in Greater Philadelphia, Delaware and South Jersey.