Opinion: For affordable bills, we need to put people first, not Pepco

Earlier this spring, I got my Pepco bill and I went numb. It was nearly $900. When I shared how high that bill was, so many neighbors told me their bills shot up too.

Between 2020 and 2025, electricity rates in D.C. went up faster than anywhere in the country, nearly doubling. Our rates shot up more than twice as much as those of the largest utility in Virginia, the data center capital.

How we got here

Like most of the country, D.C. has an electricity distribution monopoly. That means that a single company, Pepco, is in charge of delivering us our power. Utility regulators decide what investments Pepco can make to improve our electric grid and how much profit Pepco is allowed to charge us.Pepco bills are expensive for a few reasons:

1. Electricity costs are going up in our region. We had the chance to lock in clean, low-cost energy rates, which Pepco didn’t want. My opponent didn’t lock in those lower rates when we had the chance and now we’re all paying for it: approximately $137 million per year, according to analysis from longtime Sierra Club leader Mark Rodeffer.
2. Pepco has been undertaking expensive projects that we all pay for. With better oversight, these costs can be reduced.
3. We are allowing more profit for Pepco investors than we need to.

My plan to lower utility costs

I have been working to freeze Pepco prices since before I joined the council. Back in 2020, I wrote to D.C. utility regulators opposing a multi-year Pepco rate increase. With eight of my colleagues, I called on utility regulators to rein in spending. My opponent didn’t join us in opposing the hike and it passed.

Earlier this year, I passed a law to prevent shutoffs over small dollar amounts stemming from Pepco’s unlawful rate increase. I’ve worked with my colleagues on proposed legislation that would automatically enroll eligible residents in existing utility assistance programs. As mayor, I’ll implement a comprehensive, 10-point plan to lower the cost of our energy bills. Here are some highlights:

• Protect us from Pepco and Washington Gas rate hikes by appointing D.C. utility regulators who prioritize the needs of D.C. residents, not for-profit utility companies.
• Work with regional partners to push back on how AI data centers are driving up electricity costs, using every legal tool available to make sure we are being treated fairly.
• Right-size Pepco’s profits, taking money that would have paid investors and using it to lower our bills.
• Expand solar power by easing permitting, installing solar panels on government buildings, and making subsidies and loans available for people with lower incomes to access solar and batteries. 

By modernizing our electric system and adding more solar and batteries to our grid, our energy will be cheaper, more reliable, and cleaner. This will even cut costs for people who don't choose to upgrade, because less strain on the grid means we can be charged less by Pepco for construction and maintenance.

My main opponent has a long history of siding with Pepco. You deserve a mayor who has a long history of siding with you. 

Under Kenyan McDuffie’s oversight, our energy bills soared

Kenyan McDuffie blocked us from entering into long-term energy contracts when prices were much lower, a move we’re paying for today.

In 2018, then-Councilmember Mary Cheh introduced an energy bill that required Pepco to buy 80% of its electricity through long-term contracts for low-cost wind and solar energy. Pepco did not like being required to use power purchase agreements. McDuffie removed that provision.

Rodeffer of the Sierra Club’s analysis found that if the original provision had taken effect, D.C. would have locked in a contract when power cost approximately $38 per megawatt hour. Today, we have to pay $88 per megawatt hour, more than double the price. (I’m proud to have the endorsement of the Sierra Club’s D.C. chapter due to my strong record on the environment and energy affordability.)

McDuffie’s work to prevent us from locking in lower prices costs the average D.C. family almost $300 - $500 in higher Pepco bills a year, according to Rodeffer’s calculations. This cost is increasing as electric prices rapidly rise since we haven’t locked in low rates and are subject to the whims of the market. 

Rising Pepco costs are a hard problem to solve and I believe D.C. needs a leader we can trust.

Kenyan McDuffie was the chair of the D.C. Council committee that oversees D.C.’s Public Service Commission, which approves Pepco rate increases, from 2017 through 2025. Under his watch, our electric rates went up much faster than our neighbors’ rates. 

From 2018 through mid-2024, McDuffie had five times more contact with Pepco lobbyists than any other councilmember, according to data compiled by the Sierra Club DC PAC. We don’t know what happened in those closed-door meetings, but we do know that the Public Service Commission approved Pepco’s rate increases in 2019, 2021, and 2024. We are all paying for it.

We also know that two of McDuffie's chiefs of staff have gone on to work at or lobby for Pepco and Washington Gas, and that another former chief of staff had previously held a senior role at Pepco.

Since 2017, I have seen how the politically well-connected have benefited while the rest of us were squeezed. As mayor, I’ll work every day to lower utility costs, expand access to clean energy, and make sure every D.C. resident can afford to keep the lights on.