Sierra Club DC PAC & SADC Launch Mail Program about Kenyan McDuffie’s Ties to For-Profit Utilities
April 9, 2026
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
Sierra Club DC PAC & Safe and Affordable Launch Mail Program to Educate Voters about Kenyan McDuffie’s Ties to For-Profit Utilities
During his time on the Council, Kenyan McDuffie took five times more private meetings with Pepco than any other CM (2 times more than all of them combined) and consistently promoted Pepco- and Washington Gas-friendly amendments to DC law.
Washington, DC – This week, labor unions and affordable energy advocates are launching a mail program to educate DC voters about the details of Kenyan McDuffie’s record on utilities, everything from borderline negligent oversight to backdoor dealings with utility companies.
You can view the first mailing here.
As hundreds of thousands of DC residents wrestle with the fallout of some of the highest gas and electricity bills of their lives, voters are learning that Kenyan McDuffie had five times more contact with Pepco than any other member of the Council, received thousands in campaign contributions from Pepco, its lobbyists, and its executives; and consistently voted for giveaways to Pepco and Washington Gas while he was on the DC Council.
“It’s clear that McDuffie’s lax oversight of DC’s for-profit utilities while he was on the council has become a major campaign issue,” said David Whitehead, Sierra Club DC PAC Co-Chair. “Voters should know the full story – he has taken more backdoor meetings with Pepco than the rest of his colleagues combined, as well as thousands in donations from the companies and their lobbyists.”
According to the District of Columbia’s Board of Ethics and Government Affairs (BEGA), which requires disclosure of communications between lobbyists and Councilmembers, since 2018 and his January 9, 2026 resignation from the council, McDuffie had five times more disclosed contacts with Pepco’s lobbyists than any other member of the Council. And since 2018, according to DC campaign finance records, McDuffie has taken $4,870.36 from Pepco, Pepco lobbyists, and Pepco executives.
In November 2018, McDuffie made last-minute changes to the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2018, which required that the District’s energy come from renewable sources by 2032. Two of McDuffie’s amendments deeply worried clean energy advocates because they benefited Pepco at the expense of DC residents. These included undercutting DC’s independently-run energy efficiency programs, potentially allowing Pepco to charge customers twice for the same energy efficiency investments. McDuffie also stripped out a provision that would require Pepco to purchase renewable energy through long-term contracts, an approach that was expected to deliver substantial savings to DC customers based on their use in other jurisdictions. Long-term contracts may have also helped to protect DC ratepayers from price volatility in regional energy markets brought on by data centers and other factors.
“Skyrocketing utility costs hit DC’s working families hardest, something that, as a former mail carrier, Kenyan McDuffie should know,” said Jos Williams, Chair of Safe & Affordable DC and the former president of the Metro Washington Council, AFL-CIO. “DC is already an extraordinarily expensive place to live. That’s why workers need a Mayor who will fight for them and their bank accounts. McDuffie has been far too cozy with utility companies for us to have any confidence that he’ll put DC’s workers first.”
McDuffie’s cozy relationship with DC’s for-profit utility monopolies extends beyond Pepco. In 2023, Washington Gas lobbyists worked to undermine a bill to ensure DC’s government buildings use and benefit from clean energy. Reporting revealed that lobbyists came to McDuffie with last-minute amendments to undermine the bill, and that McDuffie worked behind the scenes to promote the company's goals. He ultimately did not introduce the amendment after a reported phone call with Councilmember Mary Cheh, in which she told him it would be a “futile act,” and that he “could choose bonafides to the company if he wanted to do that, but it wouldn’t go anywhere.” McDuffie’s former chief of staff was a lobbyist for Washington Gas at the time, and still lobbies for utilities today.
“Voters are learning that they have a very clear choice in this election,” said Matt Gravatt, Sierra Club DC PAC Co-Chair. “A choice between Janeese Lewis George, who has demonstrated time and again that she’ll stand up to for-profit utilities, including leading a bill just last week to prevent shutoffs for struggling families, and seeking relief for Pepco customers for an unfair rate hike approved under Kenyan McDuffie’s idle oversight. Kenyan McDuffie, on the other hand, has failed for years to stem rising costs, all while taking dozens of closed door meetings and collecting thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the very companies driving up costs for DC residents.”
The collaborative mail program will make the record clear to voters over the coming months, with each PAC taking turns to spread the message far and wide. Voters begin casting votes for DC’s next Mayor in mid-May.
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PAID FOR BY SIERRA CLUB DC PAC, 50 F STREET NW, SUITE 800. MATTHEW GRAVATT, TREASURER. TOP FIVE CONTRIBUTORS: SIERRA CLUB. 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, 32BJ UNITED AMERICAN DREAM FUND, BALTIMORE WASHINGTON CONSTRUCTION AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES LABORERS PAC, UFCW LOCAL 400 ABC PAC. A COPY OF OUR REPORT IS FILED WITH THE DIRECTOR OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF ELECTIONS.