MAYS LANDING, N.J. (June 21, 2021) – Atlantic City Electric and its five sister Exelon utilities join fellow environmentally conscious organizations all over the world in celebration of Pollinator Week, an international effort from June 21-27, 2021, to raise awareness about the urgent need to address declining pollinator populations and promote their valuable contributions to the ecosystem.

Supporting pollinator habitats and biodiversity is an integral part of Atlantic City Electric's operations, with an emphasis on transforming transmission rights-of-way throughout southern New Jersey into a more welcoming place for pollinators to live. Atlantic City Electric actively manages 4,800 acres of rights-of-way using Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) to improve wildlife habitats and has a goal to increase that number to 5,600 acres by 2028. IVM also encourages the growth of compatible low growing native shrubs and grass, lowers Atlantic City Electric's carbon footprint because it requires less mowing, and improves water quality within local waterways.

"Pollinators are essential to preserving a healthy ecosystem and we are committed to expanding and protecting the habitats where they live and breed," said Sam Williams, Pepco Holdings vice president, Support Service, which includes Atlantic City Electric. "We have a responsibility to protect wildlife, including pollinators. Strategies to protect these habitats as part of the energy work we do are a key opportunity for us to improve the environment we all share."

Most flowering plants and staple crops rely on animal pollinators for reproduction. Bees, butterflies, birds, and more than 200,000 other pollinator species are responsible for one out of every three bites of food you eat and $20 billion worth of products annually in the United States. But pollinators face a growing threat of habitat loss as native vegetation is replaced by roadways, monoculture, and non-native plants, and their well-being is further threatened by humans' overuse of pesticides and by climate change. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists dozens of critical pollinators as endangered or threatened.

That's why Atlantic City Electric's pollinator support extends beyond transmission corridors with planning currently underway on improvements at sites such as Carney's Point, which is already certified by the National Wildlife Federation and is seeking to add a Wildlife Habitat Council Conservation Certification in 2022. Four other company sites across Pepco Holdings, which includes Atlantic City Electric, also hold these certifications for being welcoming to pollinators and other wildlife.

As owners and managers of tens of thousands of acres of land, Exelon's utilities—Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO, and Pepco—are uniquely positioned to be leaders of pollinator stewardship. Earlier this year, ComEd applied for a binding Conservation Agreement

with Assurances (CCAA) with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the monarch butterfly. Pepco, Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva Power and BGE are also applying for CCAAs. Atlantic City Electric would pledge under its CCAA to convert 18 percent of transmission right-of-way to pollinator habitat specifically to protect the monarch, which is threatened so significantly it is a candidate to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Exelon's corporate Biodiversity and Habitat Policy ensures its operating companies pursue other important pollinator-friendly strategies. For example, higher diversity seed mixes are used in vegetation restoration efforts, employees have access to educational resources about pollinators, and community pollinator initiatives are supported through partnerships with nonprofits and regulatory agencies.

Pollinator Week is organized by Pollinator Partnership, the largest nonprofit organization in the world dedicated exclusively to the protection and promotion of pollinators and their ecosystems.

More information about Pollinator Week, including how you can get involved, is available at pollinator.org.

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