Gas and electric bills skyrocket in DC, and there is one mayoral candidate to blame

March 13, 2025

Contact:
Benjy Cannon, press@safeandaffordabledc.com, 202-714-1567 - Safe & Affordable DC
David Whitehead, david.whitehead@sierraclub.org, 202-417-6752 - Sierra Club DC PAC

Gas and electric bills skyrocket in DC, and there is one mayoral candidate to blame
Sierra Club DC PAC and Safe & Affordable DC issued the following joint statement:

Washington, DC  – Three months away from the mayoral primary, hundreds of thousands of DC residents are staring at the highest gas and electricity bills of their lives. While prices are up across the country, the burdens DC residents are facing are unique.

From 2020 to 2025, DC electricity prices increased 93%, the highest in the nation. More and more Washingtonians are falling into utility debt. Nearly 1 in 7 DC residents were behind on their gas bills, even before this last round of astronomical bills arrived. In December 2025, Pepco disconnection notices spiked by nearly 20%.

“DC is an incredibly expensive city, as union members here know all too well,” said Jos Williams, Chairman of Safe & Affordable DC. “Janeese Lewis George has an actual, comprehensive plan for bringing down utility costs, whereas Kenyan McDuffie did nothing to rein in rates when he oversaw the Public Service Commission (PSC) responsible for setting them. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

From 2017 until his resignation from the DC Council in 2026, one person had primary oversight over the Public Service Commission (PSC), the DC body in charge of approving utility rate hikes: Kenyan McDuffie. 

McDuffie’s role on the DC Council was to ask tough questions of the PSC and protect DC residents from being overcharged. Instead, during his tenure, councilmember McDuffie did little to question the PSC’s decisions, including when it was clear that the PSC’s leadership was internally divided and when the commission was challenged for “ignor[ing] required due process” in court.

DC’s utility companies have proposed raising prices on DC residents in five of the last six years, and the PSC has approved every single rate hike. The PSC’s role is to protect the public interest and to investigate whether a request for a rate hike is reasonable and necessary. The PSC is made up of three commissioners, and for years, one commissioner has consistently dissented to this avalanche of rate hikes, pointing out the lack of due diligence by his own commission. In a rate hike approved in 2024, Commissioner Beverly wrote in his dissent that the rationale for allowing the rate hike “could be summarized as ‘because Pepco said so,’* a clear signal from inside the PSC itself that more scrutiny was needed.

While all this was happening, McDuffie was chairman of the committee charged with oversight of the PSC. In that role, McDuffie did not launch a single investigation into the PSC, introduced no legislation to reform the PSC, and did not ask tough questions during annual oversight hearings. This lack of attention and oversight is particularly concerning given that, in 2025, the Office of People’s Counsel took the PSC to court, alleging it had neglected due diligence before approving a rate hike. Just last week, a DC appeals court agreed and remanded that rate hike, a rare rebuke from courts that more often than not side with regulatory bodies like the PSC. 

“The fact that McDuffie is on the campaign trail claiming he will fight to keep our bills down is laughable. For nearly a decade, Councilmember McDuffie had his chance to protect DC residents from skyrocketing bills, and he did next to nothing. DC residents are suffering today because of McDuffie's failure to properly oversee the PSC for years. The commission, under McDuffie’s watch, approved numerous rate hikes with little evidence or justification,” said David Whitehead, Sierra Club DC PAC Co-Chair.

The results of Kenyan McDuffie’s actions are being felt by DC residents as their electric and gas bills skyrocket. During his tenure on the DC Council, and specifically the period in which he had a responsibility to oversee the PSC, DC’s electricity “rates soared by nearly 70%, more than double the rate increases in Virginia and Pennsylvania and roughly 50% more than increases in Maryland.” Voters need to know who is responsible for the pain they are experiencing from their utility bills.

“McDuffie wants DC voters to give him a promotion to DC Mayor, but his record makes clear he’d serve utility companies rather than the people of DC,” said Matt Gravatt, Sierra Club DC PAC Co-Chair. “If McDuffie wasn’t serious about protecting our wallets and interests as a Councilmember, how could DC residents possibly trust him to be serious about protecting our wallets and interests as mayor?” 

DC voters have a clear choice in the mayoral election: Janeese Lewis George. She has set out smart policies and will fight to bring utility costs down and keep DC affordable. Sierra Club DC PAC and Safe and Affordable DC are committed to making sure voters get the facts before election day.

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*Full quote from Commissioner Beverly: “Unfortunately, the only thing that is clear to me about this arrangement is that ratepayers (including the Federal and District governments) are being given a bill for one hundred and twenty-three million dollars with a justification that, to me, could be summarized as ‘because Pepco said so.’ I cannot, in good conscience, find that this arrangement is in the public interest so I must respectfully dissent.” Source - FC1176, pg 5 of Dissent.

PAID FOR BY SIERRA CLUB DC PAC, 50 F STREET NW, SUITE 800. MATTHEW GRAVATT, TREASURER. A COPY OF OUR REPORT IS FILED WITH THE DIRECTOR OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF ELECTIONS.

PAID FOR BY SAFE AND AFFORDABLE DC, 901 K ST. NW SUITE 200, WASHINGTON, DC 20001, KELSEY GARNATZ, TREASURER. TOP FIVE CONTRIBUTORS: WORKERS VOTE (UNITE HERE) AND 32BJ UNITED AMERICAN DREAM FUND. A COPY OF OUR REPORT IS FILED WITH THE DIRECTOR OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF ELECTIONS.