Protecting DC Ratepayers:
Lower Bills, Cleaner Energy
From housing to groceries, the cost of living in D.C. is up. And now, utility bills are skyrocketing too! 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 off dirty methane gas!
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. D.C.’s utility regulator, the Public Service Commission (PSC) approved double digit rate hike for Washington Gas last year). And Pepco’s latest rate hike was thrown out by the courts for being unfair – after raising our bills for two years.. 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. Other states across the country 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.
Meanwhile in D.C., our utility bills are piling up and our regulators are making the problem WORSE, not better.
Take Action for Lower Utility Bills:
1. Sign our petition demanding change now.
Let DC leaders know you support protecting ratepayers from monopoly utility greed. It’s time for us to:
- 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. Join us in the fight to end Washington Gas’s expensive Project Pipes.
We’re spending millions of dollars a year – and over $12 billion in total – to replace methane pipelines in D.C. And it’s driving up our gas bills. Project Pipes costs were 50% of the most recent gas rate hike that spiked our bills in January. Learn more about our campaign to Stop Project Pipes for good here.
3. Fight for new leadership at the Public Service Commission with CCAN Action Fund.
Over their four years on D.C.’s Public Service Commission, Chairman Thompson and Commissioner Trabue have voted for over $550 million in spending by D.C.’s monopoly utilities, from Project Pipe extensions to rate hikes. In 2026 we’re no closer to a plan for transitioning the city away from methane gas that we were in 2021. Bills are piling up for D.C. families, while our utilities bring in record profits. We need leaders with a new vision for our energy future. Learn more about CCAN Action Fund’s campaign for new leaders and lower bills here.
Want to learn more about this utility regulator? What HAS the PSC done to regulate gas pipelines or plan our clean energy transition? Get caught up on years of PSC debates and decisions, and records of CCAN’s advocacy for climate by reading our Climate Docket Dispatch.
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.
- Gas Rate Hike to Take Effect Jan. 1, 2026, as Part of Washington Gas’ Controversial Modernization Project
- New year brings rate increase for Washington Gas customers in DC
- D.C. residents saw Pepco bills skyrocket this winter
- A D.C. court just reignited the debate over high electric bills
