Energy costs in Washington DC increased over 93% in just 5 years

The cost of electricity is up 93.2% in the nation’s capital, according to reporting from Inside Climate News. Not only has this expense nearly doubled, DC outpaced all other states in increasing energy costs. According to the data compiled from the Energy Information Administration, DC’s energy costs shot up through a combination of inflation, supply constraints, renewable interconnection issues, and new energy gluttons like data centers straining supply. Toss in fleckless officials in the Mayor’s office and the PSC and we have this result: unaffordable electric bills and residents drowning in debt to Pepco.

Make no mistake: this is a monumental failure by the Public Service Commission, namely Commissioners Thompson and Trabue. Instead of protecting the public and leading the city’s long-term energy plan (in conjunction with the Council-approved climate goals), the PSC paid deference to shareholder-owned Pepco.

In just a few years, Pepco jacked up rates while slow-rolling climate action and energy efficiency. Rollouts for distributed energy resources (DERs) and similar initiatives like community solar stumbled along, even though these projects decrease strain on the grid and open new channels for affordable power. Meanwhile, the PSC has done little to make interconnection more efficient on green projects that reduce energy cost and boost reliability, allowing Pepco to take the lead in a situation similar to Virginia’s solar mess.

We deserve comprehensive and robust utility reform and public power - not a greedy utility owned by hedge funds and a PSC that is complacent sitting on its hands. The time is now, or our communities will only continue to drown in energy debt.