Dive Summary:

• Exelon Corp., the largest U.S. nuclear power producer -- long doomed by the falling price of natural gas and wholesale electricity -- may turn a corner as Obama’s new climate action plan tackles emissions from coal plants. New CO2 regulations may drive up the price of electricity thereby diminishing competition from coal and boosting the value of Exelon’s nuclear portfolio.
• Exelon has spent years lobbying for favorable climate legislation that takes into account the low-emissions value of nuclear. But the Chicago-based company has trailed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index for the past five years, lost a starling $30.5 billion of market value since 2008, and saw a 64% plunge in its stock due to competition from lower natural gas and wholesale electricity prices.
• “The worse things are for coal, the better they are for nuclear,” says Kit Konolige, a New York-based analyst for BGC Partners LP. While coal producers such as Peabody Energy Corp. bemoan Obama’s new climate plan, utilities specializing in nuclear, wind, and solar are singing a different tune.

From the article:
“The company, which announced its first dividend cut in February, has 17 nuclear reactors and 44 wind-power projects and much to gain from carbon dioxide, or CO2, regulations…”