Crowds have stepped up at multiple hearings to protest the utility monopoly’s high bills and health risks, and call for PSC to reject proposed rate hikes.
“A system that leaks methane throughout is not clean, nor is it affordable.”
These words, spoken by D.C. resident Deirdre Joy at a recent Public Service Commission (PSC) hearing, capture the frustration and urgency felt by many in our community. Washington Gas’s proposed 12% rate hike has sparked widespread opposition, as residents grapple with soaring utility bills and the environmental damage caused by outdated fossil fuel infrastructure.
On April 10, nearly 40 people packed a small meeting room at the Benning Neighborhood Library in Ward 7. With a hot mic and the attention of the D.C. utility regulators – the Public Service Commissioners – every person who testified spoke against Washington Gas’s latest proposed rate hike. And again, less than two weeks later, on April 21, another 40 gathered in the basement of the Petworth Neighborhood Library. Over a dozen residents testified, and again, every single resident asked the Commission to reject the rate hike.
“I think in my two and a half years at the commission, this is the largest gathering I've seen of public witnesses coming to testify on any of our cases.”
“As a customer to Washington Gas, I expect, and I thought your requirement was, to provide natural gas to my house under 24-hour monitoring and constantly upgrading your bill. And that should be part of the contract of a utility company. I have not gotten a letter saying that y'all no longer do that, that y'all have taken the money that is supposed to be with the monitoring and the upgrading. And I don't know what you've done with it. Have you given it to yourselves? Because you haven't given me any money back. And so to ask me now to give you more money for something I have been paying you for all along to keep your infrastructure safe, and now I feel like I'm being blackmailed to give you this increase or I'm going to die.”
From residents complaining about $200 gas bills even before a rate increase to testimony given by the “Monopoly Man from Washington Gas,” the message from D.C. residents is clear: we’re fed up with high bills for fossil fuels.
“The company should be focusing on fixing leaks and remedying the most hazardous issues and not embarking on a huge expansion of the entire infrastructure, particularly at a time when we should be less reliant on fossil fuels.”
“When I think about 24 percent increase [in utility bills] in two years…many working people would dream of having that kind of increase in their salaries. And…everything is heading the other way. So it's not consistent with the way the world is right now to allow wealthy companies to raise their rates so high when…the community they're serving is losing its ability to pay. And… it's putting people in jeopardy by not only affecting their health but also making it harder for them to live without having adequate funds to take care of themselves.”
“A system that leaks methane throughout is not clean, nor is it affordable. Washington Gas's last rate hike, as others have mentioned, went into effect in January 2024, barely a year ago. PEPCO has already been approved for a 12 percent rate hike over the next two years. Another 12 percent on gas bills is unacceptable. Higher rates now make no sense to me as a consumer. For one thing, it means I'm investing more in a system that is harming the planet when alternatives exist.”
Sitting in the crowd at both hearings, I was struck not just by how many folks had chosen to spend a beautiful spring evening at a community hearing, but also by the sense of solidarity in the room. From a sing-along testimony to a chorus of applause after each speaker, every speaker had the room behind them – literally and figuratively.
Want to be a part of this grassroots movement against even higher bills for fossil fuels? Come to the PSC’s last community hearing on April 29, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the PSC Hearing Room, 1325 G Street, NW, Suite 800.
Full transcripts of the April 10 and April 21 hearings are available online, and more information on D.C.’s skyrocketing utility burden is available on our blog.