Protecting DC Ratepayers:
Lower Bills, Cleaner Energy
From housing to groceries, the cost of living in D.C. is up. Utility bills are skyrocketing too, but the D.C. Council can stop these ballooning costs for residents! It’s time to protect ratepayers (AKA folks who pay a utility bill) from unfair rate increases, stop spending our money on wasteful, wildly expensive projects like Project Pipes, and instead invest in a real transition from dirty methane gas to clean networked geothermal power!
Want lower bills and cleaner energy?
Utility Costs are Weighing on Washingtonians
Today, roughly 20% of D.C. residents are behind on their energy bills and are in debt to Washington Gas or Pepco. And when they can’t catch up, these billion dollar companies shut off electricity and gas to thousands of folks every year. Households east of the Anacostia River have the lowest median incomes in the city, but pay more in energy bills—in absolute dollars—than almost anywhere else in DC. In Ward 8, households spend on average 6% of their incomes on energy bills, compared to just 1.45% in Ward 3.
And it’s only getting worse. Washington Gas has asked for a double digit rate hike, currently under review by D.C.’s utility regulator, the Public Service Commission (PSC). And Pepco’s latest rate hike is already increasing electric bills by the double digits, even as it sits in court for a potentially faulty decision by the PSC. Meanwhile, no one can get a straight answer out of our utilities: where is all that profit going, and are they using our money for their own lobbying?
It’s Time to Put People and Planet Over Profit
The District can do better. In states across the country, legislators have:
- Passed common sense ratepayer reforms that protect ratepayers from our money being used to lobby for higher rates and fossil fuels
- Reformed wildly expensive projects that over-spend on the gas infrastructure of the past and drive utility bills up
- Tested new clean energy solutions to heat and power homes.
It’s time for the D.C. Council to step up and protect residents from rising costs!
How It Works:
1. Establish commonsense ratepayer protections.
Ban for-profit utilities from using ratepayer funds to pay lobbying expenses, trade membership dues, or legal expenses of rate cases. Require votes at PJM to be public. Limit multi-year rate cases that increase costs over time.
2. End Washington Gas’s expensive Project Pipes.
Stop Project Pipes for good by setting clear requirements for any accelerated pipeline replacement that ensures repair is prioritized first.
3. Build for the future with network geothermal.
Pilot a cleaner form of thermal energy! Invest in the transition from dirty methane gas to clean network geothermal, while creating jobs and ensuring reliable, cheap energy for all.
Keep an eye on your electricity bills this summer! As we know, climate change is making our summers hotter, and more households are cranking up the air conditioning. But that isn’t the main reason your bill is skyrocketing. Pepco’s latest bill increase follows a pattern of rate hikes that it’s been forcing on customers for years – and we can’t keep footing the bill. >>
D.C Residents Speak Out: Public Testimonies Challenge Washington Gas’s Excessive Bills >>
“A system that leaks methane throughout is not clean, nor is it affordable.”
— D.C resident Deirdre Joy during Public Testimony on April 21, 2025.
These words, spoken by D.C. resident Deirdre Joy at a recent Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing, capture the frustration and urgency felt by many in our community. Washington Gas’s proposed 12% rate hike has sparked widespread opposition, as residents grapple with soaring utility bills and the environmental damage caused by outdated fossil fuel infrastructure. >>
Resources
- A safer, more affordable DC begins with a plan to move beyond gas
- Washington Gas is Betting Against the Climate, and Your Health, with Billions of Your Money
- Washington Gas Wants to Raise D.C. Residents’ Rates By 20 Percent
- D.C. utility bills could spike this summer under proposed gas hike
- DC-area utility bills have gone up, and that trend may continue
- Pepco Raked in $108 Million Thanks To Recent Rate Increases. Another Bump Could Kick in Next Year, But It’s Being Challenged in Court.
- https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/768660/pepco-rate-increase-heat-wave-lawsuit/
