FORM 8-K





                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION




                              Washington, DC 20549

                                 CURRENT REPORT



                Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
                              Exchange Act of 1934




                          Date of Report: May 12, 1997



                               PECO ENERGY COMPANY
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



                         PENNSYLVANIA 1-1401 23-0970240
                       (State or other (SEC (IRS Employer
                   jurisdiction of file number) Identification
                             incorporation) Number)




              230l Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101
               (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)



               Registrant's telephone number, including area code:
                                 (215) 841-4000






Item 1. Legal Proceedings

   
         As previously  reported in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended  December  31, 1996,  on March 5, 1996,  the Company and Delmarva
Power & Light Company  (Delmarva)  filed an action in the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Public Service Enterprise
Group  Incorporated  (Public Service) and its subsidiary Public Service Electric
and Gas Company (PSE&G)  concerning the shutdown of the Salem Generating Station
(Salem). On May 9, 1997, the parties to the litigation entered into a settlement
agreement,  which has been approved by PECO Energy's  Board of Directors.  Under
the terms of the  settlement,  PSE&G will pay the  plaintiffs  $82 million.  The
Company will receive  $69,848,600  and Delmarva  will receive  $12,151,400.  The
payments will be made on December 31, 1997. The settlement also provides that if
the  current  outage  exceeds 64 reactor  unit  months,  then PSE&G will pay the
plaintiffs, in addition to the $82 million, $1.4 million per reactor unit month,
up to an  aggregate  of $17  million.  The Company and  Delmarva  would  receive
$1,192,520  and $207,480 per reactor  unit month,  respectively.  A reactor unit
month is a month during the current  outage in which a unit is  off-line.  Salem
Unit  No.  1 has  been  off-line  since  May 17,  1995,  and Unit No. 2 has been
off-line since June 7, 1995.  Under the  settlement,  none of the parties admits
any  liability.  The terms of the  settlement  also include a term sheet setting
forth provisions  regarding  liability and performance  obligations of the plant
operator in  connection  with the owners  agreements  for Salem and Peach Bottom
Atomic Power Station.  The term sheet provides for payments to the non-operating
owners if a station's  electrical  output  falls  below  specified  ranges.  The
parties  also  intend to  negotiate  a more  complete  agreement  embodying  the
provisions of the term sheet.  The  settlement is unrelated to the claims of the
Salem co-owners asserted against  Westinghouse  Electric Corporation on February
27, 1996.     

                                                                * * * *

Item 5. Other Events

         As previously reported in the Current Report on Form 8-K dated February
27, 1997,  the Company filed with the  Pennsylvania  Public  Utility  Commission
(PUC) its comprehensive  pilot program to enable some 90,000 customers to choose
their electric  suppliers  beginning as early as October 1997 in accordance with
the Pennsylvania Electricity Generation Competition and Customer Choice Act.

         On May 8,  1997,  the  PUC  issued  a  Preliminary  Opinion  and  Order
(Preliminary  Order) which revised the retail choice pilot programs  proposed by
the Company and the other utilities in the state. The Preliminary Order provides
for the following:

         - Market-based  generation  price of 3 cents per kWh credited to retail
           customer bills during the pilot program;
         - A fixed rate that  reflects 75 percent  recovery  of  stranded  costs
           during the pilot program; and





         - Requirement  to track any  difference  between the 75 percent and the
           ultimate  stranded cost recovery level  adopted,  subject to possible
           true-up at a later time.

Pilot programs are scheduled to begin in the fall of 1997 and last through the
end of 1998.  Written comments to the PUC regarding the preliminary order are
due May 22, 1997.

                                     * * * *








                                   SIGNATURES




Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.




                                                    PECO ENERGY COMPANY
                                                     s\ J. B. Mitchell
                                                  Vice President - Finance
                                                       and Treasurer


May 12, 1997