Gas and electric bills have been rising across the D.C. region for a while and that trend may continue, with Washington Gas proposing a rate hike in the near future.
“There’s been a strong upward trend of higher utility bills beyond just the rate of inflation,” said Claire Mills with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a nonprofit that advocates for policies supporting climate stability in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. “It’s a really tough environment.”
The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, an agency that regulates local utility companies, is considering a proposal from Washington Gas to raise rates by about 12%.
According to the utility, the increase is needed to generate revenue to cover the cost of maintaining and upgrading its infrastructure.
“This is a really massive increase for the average customer,” Mills said, noting that it could push monthly bills up by at least $15.
The commission has held several community meetings to discuss the proposed hike. And Mills was at the most recent event.
“I think almost 20 people had the time to testify, and every single person was talking about how we can’t afford these increased rates,” she said. “One of the people testifying was talking about having to pay $200 a month on gas already.”
Other utility bills have also risen recently.
In January, Pepco informed its customers that electric bills would be increasing by about 5%.
“We have the cost for the literal energy we’re using, and that’s going up because of issues with the regional energy grid,” Mills said. “Then there’s also the distribution charges, like the cost of getting the energy to your house, and that’s going up because of regulatory decisions.”
Unpredictable weather has played a role, too.
Earlier this year, Pepco said it would extend assistance to customers whose energy bills spiked dramatically over the winter.
William Ellis, director of external affairs for Pepco, told WTOP in February that the sticker shock was especially tough on customers after a mild fall.
“It was a very mild November, where the average temperature was about 60 degrees,” Ellis said.
Compare that to the winter conditions where “the average temperature has been hovering around 30 degrees,” Ellis said, which led to “tremendous spikes in customers’ usage” and higher bills.