History
On September 15, 2005, Constellation Energy announced a joint venture, UniStar Nuclear, with Areva to market the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) in the United States. On December 19, 2005, FPL Group, Inc. announced the acquisition of Constellation Energy in a merger transaction valued at more than $11 billion, as well as the fact that it would adopt Constellation Energy as its name for the post-merger entity. The merger was canceled on October 25, 2006.[7]
In July 2008, Constellation Energy bought uranium trading firm Nufcor International from AngloGold Ashanti and FirstRand International.[8]
On September 15, 2008, after reports that Constellation had exposure to Lehman Brothers following that firm's bankruptcy filing, Constellation's stock price dropped 56% in a single day. The massive drop led the New York Stock Exchange to halt trading in Constellation. The next day, as the stock fell as low as $13 a share, the company announced it was hiring Morgan Stanley and UBS to advise it on "strategic alternatives" suggesting a buyout.[9][10] On September 17, 2008, Constellation accepted an offer of $4.7 billion by MidAmerican Energy, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway,[11] but ultimately canceled the deal on December 17, 2008, in favor of a $4.5 billion buyout from French power company Electricite de France (EDF).[12][13]
In January 2009, Constellation Energy announced it would sell the majority of its London-based international commodities business to an affiliate of Goldman Sachs for an undisclosed price.[14]
In April 2010, Constellation Energy closed its agreement with Clipper Windpower to acquire the Criterion Wind Project in Garrett County, Maryland, and to purchase 28 Clipper Liberty 2.5-MW wind turbines for the project. Construction was completed in December 2010. In May 2010, the firm acquired two natural gas combined-cycle generation facilities in Texas from Houston-based Navasota Holdings. The $365 million transaction included the Colorado Bend Energy Center, a 550-MW facility near Wharton, Texas, and Quail Run Energy Center, a 550-MW facility near Odessa, Texas. The purchase added 1,100 MW of capacity.
On April 28, 2011, Exelon announced its intention to purchase Constellation Energy. The merger was completed on March 12, 2012.[15]
On May 27, 2011, Constellation Energy announced its intention to purchase StarTex Power, a retail electricity provider in Houston, Texas; the purchase was completed on June 1, 2011.[16] In 2018, the StarTex brand was discontinued; Constellation served its existing customers instead.[17] In May 2011, the company acquired MXenergy, a residential and small business energy provider with approximately half a million customers. In December 2011, it announced the acquisition of ONEOK Energy Marketing Co., a natural gas company with customers in the Midwest. In 2011, it contracted to construct and operate for the Toys-R-Us distribution center in Flanders, New Jersey, what was then the largest rooftop solar array ever constructed.[18]
In March 2014, it agreed to acquire ETC ProLiance Energy,[19] a supplier of natural gas to customers in several states. In November 2014, it completed its acquisition of Integrys Energy Services, a competitive retail electricity and natural gas subsidiary serving customers in 22 states. In September 2016, it completed its acquisition of the retail electricity and natural gas business from ConEdison Solutions, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. In the purchase, Constellation acquired ConEdison's retail electricity and natural gas customer contracts and associated supply contracts serving approximately 15 TWh of electricity and 1 e9cuft/a of natural gas to more than 560,000 commercial, industrial, public sector and residential customers.
In August 2018, it began constructing a 10-megawatt solar array outside of Ocean City, Maryland. The array will provide the city with approximately 20% of its annual energy usage when completed.[20] In October 2018, Constellation and the Tucson Unified School District completed a project that added solar generation capability to 82 of the district's buildings and facilities. The project is estimated to meet 47% of the district's electricity needs.[21]
In 2022, it became an independent company after Exelon split its utilities and power generation businesses.[22] Former subsidiary Baltimore Gas & Electric remained part of Exelon.
In September 2024 Microsoft entered a contract with the company that will restart the undamaged nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island plant. In November 2025, the Trump administration said it would give Constellation Energy a $1 billion federal loan for the project.[23] The company is also planning to upgrade other existing reactor plants to provide more power.[24]
In January 2025, Constellation agreed to acquire the natural gas and geothermal power provider Calpine for $16.4 billion ($26.6bn including debt) in a cash-and-stock deal.[25] The deal closed in January 2026 after receiving approval by state and federal regulators.[24][26]
