Gas and electric bills set to increase in January, approved by two Bowser-appointed regulators

Starting January 2026, you can expect the distribution fees charged by both Pepco and Washington Gas to increase. These are the costs utilities charge for use of service, not for the price of energy itself. For Washington Gas customers, this will appear as an $11.24 increase on the average bill, while Pepco customers will see a $3.80 increase. (The Pepco follows a January 2025 increase of $7.54, as the tail end of a multiyear rate increase pilot).

The men responsible for approving both utility upcharges are PSC Chairman Emile Thompson and Commissioner Ted Trabue: two of the three utility regulators on DC’s Public Service Commission. Appointed by outgoing Mayor Bowser, Thompson and Trabue have greenlit six-figure rate increases for shareholder-owned utilities in just a couple years: $123.4 million for Pepco in new rate hikes and $33.4 million for Washington Gas, alongside additional increases to electricity supply rates. Both Thompson and Trabue are up for reappointment in June 2026.

The PSC is also responsible for setting a utility’s return on equity (ROE): essentially the utility’s profit margin. For both Pepco and Washington Gas, Thompson and Trabue approved nearly a 10% ROE, establishing a near-guaranteed 10% return on investment for hedge funds and financial firms that make up the majority of these shareholder-owned utilities. Even more troubling, Pepco and Washington Gas are owned by parent companies nowhere near the DC area: Exelon, which owns Pepco, is based in Chicago, while AltaGas, which owns Washington Gas, is a Canadian company.

Meanwhile, public utilities like Austin Energy and Seattle Power Light use tax-exempt municipal bonds to finance their utility, which are typically priced at 4% interest compared to Pepco’s 9.5%.

As utility bills spike and DC becomes more unaffordable for the average person, it’s important to know the government officials responsible for these corporate upcharges. Our regulators don’t need to fall over themselves to appease every moneygrab from Pepco and Washington Gas. In fact, the final PSC Commissioner, Richard Beverly, dissented against both Pepco and Washington Gas rate increases, finding the utilities’ math and reasoning poor and faulty. (Beverly’s dissents are located at the end of each linked document).

We deserve utilities that are owned by the public, run for the public benefit, and priced fairly. We also need regulators that are willing to fight for the public benefit, not give away our money in corporate handouts like Thompson and Trabue seem so keen on doing.