February 19, 2004 - AmerGen to Pursue Oyster Creek License Extension Contact: Gina G. Scala - 609-971-2180 FORKED RIVER, N.J. - AmerGen Energy Co. will seek to extend the operating license of Oyster Creek Generating Station by 20 years, the company announced today. AmerGen, a wholly owned Exelon company and the plant's licensee, expects to submit a license renewal application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in mid-2005. Oyster Creek is a 636-megawatt nuclear station in Ocean County. Its operating license expires in April 2009. NRC approval would extend the license until April 2029. Oyster Creek is subject to a rigorous program of oversight and inspection by the NRC. The plant has its own extensive programs in preventive and corrective maintenance, equipment testing and monitoring and equipment replacement. These programs have ensured that Oyster Creek continues to meet or exceed rigorous federal safety standards. AmerGen continually upgrades and modernizes equipment at Oyster Creek to enhance safety, security and efficiency. The plant spends an average of about $10 million each year in replacements and upgrades. "Oyster Creek is a clean, safe and reliable source of electricity for New Jersey," Site Vice President Bud Swenson said. "We produce 9 percent of New Jersey's electricity with almost no air emissions. It's a major economic engine for Ocean County. We want those contributions to continue, and we will do it in a safe, efficient, environmentally sensitive way or we won't do it at all. "Nothing supersedes our commitment to safety." The plant's economic contribution to the region is significant as well. Oyster Creek generated more than $52 million in direct and indirect labor income in Ocean County in 2003 and increased the county's economic output by $33 million, not including the value of electricity it produces. Across New Jersey, the plant was directly responsible for $69.3 million in increased wages in 2003 and $46.5 million in increased economic output, not including the value of electricity. The plant directly employs about 450 workers, not including security forces, more than three-quarters of them living in Ocean County. The station pays more than $9 million in state and local taxes. Based on current average market prices, Oyster Creek produces about $200 million in electricity annually, a value that is captured in state and national gross domestic product calculations. The plant also contributes to a cleaner Coastal New Jersey environment. A coal plant the size of Oyster Creek would generate about 1.1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, the equivalent of carbon emissions from about 800,000 automobiles. "The decision to pursue license renewal is a commitment to Ocean County and the communities surrounding Oyster Creek, to our employees and to the long-term safe and economic operation of the plant," Exelon Nuclear President and Chief Nuclear Officer Chris Crane said. "Our employees live in the area, their children attend schools there, and we want very much to remain a part of the Lacey and Ocean County communities." The 40-year term for U.S. nuclear plant operating licenses originally reflected the amortization period generally used by electric utility companies for large capital investments and did not represent safety, technical or environmental limits. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 permits nuclear power plants to renew their 40-year operating licenses. AmerGen Energy Co. is a wholly owned Exelon Corporation company. Exelon Corporation is one of the nation's largest electric utilities with approximately five million customers and more than $15 billion in annual revenues. The company has one of the industry's largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Exelon distributes electricity to approximately five million customers in Illinois and Pennsylvania and gas to 425,000 customers in the Philadelphia area. The company also has holdings in such competitive businesses as energy, infrastructure services and energy services. Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.