Climate Docket Dispatch
The Public Service Commission regulates the District’s utilities – Pepco and Washington Gas – and has the power to make or break our climate commitments. Read on for CCAN’s Docket Dispatch to learn about the live “dockets” at the Commission and see if our regulators are keeping up with the task.
Docket 1179
Project Pipes / District (uns)SAFE)
Docket 1180
Washington Gas Rate Case
Docket 1167
Gas Planning
Docket 1182
Electric Planning
Docket 1179: Accelerated Pipeline Replacement – also known as Project Pipes or District (un)SAFE
Washington Gas’s ongoing accelerated pipeline replacement project is a massive, $12 billion dollar plan to replace every methane gas pipe in the city – whether it needs it or not. Rather than targeting dangerous and polluting methane leaks, the program focuses on replacement based on pipe material, an imperfect model in which fully functional pipes are replaced all the time – and gas customers foot the bill. In the past ten years, it’s led to no reduction in gas leaks in the District. Yet Washington Gas champions this program, as this method of wholesale pipe replacement is far more profitable to Washington Gas, and more expensive to customers, than modern technologies for repairing leaking pipes.
In docket 1179, the Public Service Commission is considering District (un)SAFE – Washington Gas’s latest $215 million proposal for the third phase of its accelerated pipeline replacement program. This proposal requests 43% more than any previous phase, which means if approved, gas bills – also known as “rates” – would increase for everyone who pays them.
March 2025 Update
In a recent order, the PSC approved a $34 million dollar extension of the ongoing phase of Project Pipes until the end of 2025. Now, we expect the Commission will take at least until the end of this year to decide the next steps for District (un)SAFE, while residents continue to pay for accelerated pipeline replacement under the current program. The order also denied a motion to dismiss District (un)SAFE entirely from the Office of the People’s Counsel and denied Washington Gas’s motion for an evidentiary hearing.
Commissioner Beverly wrote a scathing dissent of this decision, including this powerful condemnation of District (un)SAFE:
“District SAFE is not a new plan or a plan at all. It is essentially the continuation of Pipes 2, rebranded as District SAFE. All it does is present a request for more money to develop project lists in the future just as it would have done under Pipes 2, as though the Commission never said anything about the need for a new approach. Allowing this “plan” to move forward embraces the same failed pipe replacement strategy that the Commission disavowed in Order No. 22003. To me, this entire exercise has become a waste of time and money with no real benefit to the climate.”
What’s Next?
We need to fight back! You can join our friends with Extinction Rebellion for their weekly Wednesday protests at the PSC, and check out our website to learn more about getting involved with the effort to stop this project once and for all!
- In February 2025, eight DC Councilmembers signed on to a letter urging the PSC to reject Washington Gas’s accelerated pipeline replacement program once and for all.
- In November 2024, 22 organizations called on the PSC to reject District SAFE and end the accelerated pipeline replacement program for good.
- In November 2024, almost 700 DC residents filed comments with the Commission demanding they reject the new District SAFE proposal and instead invest in leak repair
- In October 2024, the PSC granted a 2 month, $8.5 million extension of Project Pipes Phase 2
- In September 2024, Washington Gas refiled for a new phase of Project Pipes, renamed District SAFE, to greenwash their pollution plan
- In June 2024, the PSC denied Washington Gas’s application for Project Pipes Phase 3
- In April 2024, the DC Attorney General urged the PSC to pause Project Pipes
- In February 2024, the PSC said Project Pipes is not “just and reasonable or otherwise in the public interest”
- In February 2024, 11 DC Councilmembers sent a letter to the PSC opposing Project Pipes Phase 3
- In February 2024, though the PSC ultimately approved a 1-year, $50 million extension to Phase 2 of Project Pipes, PSC Commissioner Richard Beverly wrote a strong dissent and cited local advocacy and opposition
- In December 2023, the PSC temporarily put Project Pipes on “pause” after 26 organizations called on the PSC to reject Project Pipes completely
Docket 1180: Washington Gas Rate Case
In August 2024, Washington Gas submitted an application to raise gas bills or “rates” by 12%, generating $33.9 million of additional revenue for the monopoly utility. The company also asks for an increased rate of return of 7.8% and a return on equity of 10.50%. This return on equity is far higher than the average forecast for returns on an investment – meaning Washington Gas is justifying higher prices for residents like you so they can pay their wealthy shareholders extra.
The rate case also includes a weather normalization adjustment, which would add surcharges or credits to customer’s bills from October through May to stabilize bills based on average weather – allowing Washington Gas to make extra money when winters are warmer than expected – rather than simply having customers pay for the gas they use. In docket 1180, the PSC is deciding whether or not to approve this application, or a modified version of it.
March 2025 Update
Save the date! Next month, you get the opportunity to tell the PSC exactly what you think about this 12% rate hike at three community hearings:
- Thursday, April 10 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at Benning (Dorothy I. Height) Neighborhood Library, 3935 Benning Road, NE, Meeting Room 1
- Monday, April 21, 2025, at Petworth Neighborhood Library, 4200 Kansas Avenue, NW, Meeting Room 1, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in the Commission Hearing Room at 1325 G Street, NW, Suite 800, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The Commissioners already hear plenty from Washington Gas. Now, it’s up to us to make sure they hear from DC residents too! Sign up to testify by sending an email to PSC-CommissionSecretary@dc.gov, and look out for an action alert from CCAN with more information, including a testimony guide.
What’s next?
Washington Gas will file rebuttal testimony by March 25 to respond to points raised in the testimonies filed by OPC, Sierra Club DC, AOBA, and the DC Government. And as the intervenors go back and forth in the docket, the Commission will be hearing from all of us at the three community hearings scheduled for April.
- In January 2025, four intervenors filed direct testimony on Washington Gas’s proposed rate hike, and all has significant objections to Washington Gas’s proposal.
- In August 2024, Washington Gas filed an application for a rate hike. This application comes just seven months after the company’s last rate hike went into effect.
Docket 1167: Gas Planning
Docket 1167 has long been the home of Washington Gas’s and Pepco’s “climate business plans,” long term “plans” that lay out unfulfilled suggestions for programs that could address the utilities’ climate impact. Historically, the Commission has failed to require them to be implemented, even partially, by the utilities.
In response to repeated demands from residents, intervenors, and even the DC Council, the PSC is expanding the scope of the “climate business plans” docket to help envision real climate solutions regarding the future of gas in DC. The PSC has requested stakeholder comments from interested organizations and experts on the feasibility of establishing a gas planning proceeding in the District.
March 2025 Update
It’s almost time! Initial comments about how DC should plan for the future of our gas system will be submitted on March 27.
What’s next?
Look out for an action alert from us! We’ll be organizing DC residents to submit reply comments by the May 12 deadline, underlining the need for comprehensive gas planning and highlighting the best elements of the plans proposed in the first round of comments.
- In February 2025, the Commission extended the deadline for stakeholder comments on gas planning from February 10 to March 27. This also updates the reply comment deadline to May 12.
- In December 2024, the Public Service Commission requested gas planning comments from stakeholders and another round of climate business plans from the utilities while planning processes are considered. Commissioner Beverly dissented, arguing “it makes no sense” to force Washington Gas to complete a plan without the benefit cost analysis due later this year, and disagrees with delays on the development of this BCA.
Docket 1182: Electric Planning
Docket 1182 was opened in November 2024 to collect comments on integrated distribution system planning (IDSP), which focuses on optimizing and modernizing the electric system to meet demands. Given DC’s climate commitments, advocates and officials hope this docket will lead to the development of a framework for Pepco’s planning that factors in the District’s increasing need for electricity due to the transition off of methane gas.
March 2025 Update
Comments are in! The initial round of comments on electric planning were submitted on March 17.
What’s next?
Expect to hear more from us after we have a chance to review the comments in detail – including an action alert to submit your own comment during the reply period that ends April 14.
- In December 2024, Commissioner Beverly published a letter with additional questions for stakeholders to answer, particularly about what data and information the Commission needs to collect from Pepco and how the process could ensure a transparent outcome.
- In November 2024, the PSC asked interested stakeholders to submit comments on IDSP, including responding to a strawman proposal.
Stay tuned for more! If you have questions or want to get involved, email claire@chesapeakeclimate.org.
