Washington, D.C. — As Pepco, the investor-owned utility serving the District of Columbia, continues to raise prices at an unsustainable and aggressive clip, today the American Economic Liberties Project released a new issue brief, “How the D.C. Council Can Lower Electricity Bills for Families and Businesses,” that explores the actionable moves local politicians can take to lower costs for Washingtonians.

“Washingtonians are being squeezed by skyrocketing electricity bills while utility monopolies, like Pepco, see their profits soar,” said Marissa P. Gillett, Senior Fellow at American Economic Liberties Project. “D.C. has real power to bring these costs down and make sure the system works for families, not just for utility shareholders. District leaders must act with urgency to put affordability back at the center of the system.”

Since 2017, as Washingtonians have felt the squeeze of rising electricity bills, Pepco’s profits have almost doubled. However, rather than translating into cost-saving investments, these earnings have gone towards soaring shareholder returns and eight-digit executive compensations packages. Meanwhile, the D.C. Public Service Commission (PSC), which oversees Pepco’s rate increases, has approved these requests at an interval roughly 15 percentage points higher than the last 20 years’ national average. This has enabled $245 million in distribution rate increases over the past decade alone.

The issue brief points to several tools PSC and D.C. leaders can and should use to cut electricity bills for Washingtonians:

• Stop the revolving door between regulators and industry: Nationwide, between 2000 and 2020, the share of commissioners who previously worked in the industries they were meant to oversee doubled. The D.C. council must ensure PSC nominees support the interests of working people, not industry executives.
• Prioritize customer affordability, in mission and resources: The D.C. council should review and assess the PSC mission statement to prioritize customer affordability. They should also appropriately resource the PSC and other energy agencies in the District, which are often outmatched by monopoly utilities when assessing spending plans and rate increase proposals, leading to decision-making that tilts in the favor of corporate profits.
• Participate in regional, state, and federal collaborations: The D.C. council should urge participation in the PJM Governor’s Collaborative, which seeks to promote consumer representation in transmission governance, and other similar groups. The council should also set aside resources for regulators to represent D.C. customers in FERC proceedings, as well as encourage participation in relevant proceedings in nearby states, like rules on data center interconnection, which has downstream impacts on D.C. residents.
• Crack down on bloated profits: As Economic Liberties has previously documented, action at federal, state, and local levels to address investor-owned utilities’ excess profits would save American families nearly $500 a year. The D.C. council should address these profits by mandating the PSC align Pepco’s return on equity with market-based indicators. The council should further codify requirements that Pepco participate in a regional transmission organization, to disqualify it from receiving further incentives that hit Washingtonians’ wallets.
• Ensure customers aren’t paying for utilities’ political influence or corporate perks: Utilities, including Pepco, often pass political influence expenses, like trade association dues, to customers through their monthly rates. The same is often true for corporate perks like access to private jets and swanky corporate retreats. The D.C. council should ensure Washingtonians are only footing the bill for essential services, not corporate lobbying campaigns or elite privileges for company executives.
• Tie executive compensation to affordability: With Pepco’s parent company CEO raking in $15.6 million in 2025 alone, the D.C. council should take action to prevent any recovery in rates of executive compensation unless certain PSC-issued affordability metrics are achieved.

Read the full issue brief, “How the D.C. Council Can Lower Electricity Bills for Families and Businesses,” here.

Read about how federal action can reduce utility costs here.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.