Why D.C. utility bills are rising again this winter
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
D.C. utility bills may spike this winter as gas and electric rate hikes kick in — and colder-than-average temperatures are expected to linger into early in the new year.
Why it matters: Energy bills across the DMV are climbing due to a myriad factors, including extreme weather, infrastructure upgrades and a regional data center boom.
- This year the hikes will hit residents who are more price-sensitive amid federal layoffs and an affordability crunch.
Driving the news: Washington Gas, which services around 151,000 D.C. residents, raised rates 13% on Jan. 1 — or an extra $11.24 per month, on average.
- The controversial increase, approved by the D.C. Public Service Commission, is funding the replacement of hundreds of miles of aging gas pipelines across the District, a process now more than a decade underway.
Friction point: Climate and community advocates — including some D.C. Council members — argue the utility should focus on targeted repairs, not full replacement.
- They say repairs would be cheaper, better aligned with the city's climate goals and could ease the burden on low-income residents, who already face some of the highest energy costs relative to income in the city.
Meanwhile, Pepco, which supplies electricity to around 1 million customers in D.C. and Maryland, is wrapping up a two-year rate increase to modernize its grid.
- Customers will see an average $3.80 increase to their bill this month, following a $7.54 monthly hike in January 2025.
Between the lines: As energy demand increases, customers are also getting hit with higher supply fees. Pepco's Maryland customers face an $11 supply increase starting Jan. 1, plus a $5 state surcharge for their energy efficiency program.
- In D.C., a $5 supply increase went into effect in November.
The big picture: D.C.'s rising bills are also being driven by a force largely outside the city's control: data center growth around the Beltway.
- Massive data centers — concentrated in Northern Virginia but affecting the entire grid — consume enormous amounts of electricity, tightening supply and pushing up wholesale prices across the region.
- Because D.C. relies on regional power markets and lacks space to rapidly add new generation, the city is especially exposed to those price pressures.
What they're saying: "D.C. is in a specific cudgel of a situation because we're just a city," Harrison Pyros of energy advocacy organization We Power DC tells Axios. "If Virginia is running into this issue — which they are — they can accelerate energy production in the way we can't, and have to rely on others."
Flashback: Last winter's extreme cold delivered sticker shock. Some customers reported electricity bills topping $800 during the 2025 freeze, prompting Pepco to halt shutoffs and suspend interest on overdue balances temporarily.
Good to know: Both utilities offer programs to help ease finances.
- Pepco customers can sign up for usage alerts, budget billing and home energy assessments.
- During December's record cold, more than 42,000 customers received high-usage alerts, according to the utility.
What we're watching: The same forces driving winter bills higher could resurface this summer — when cooling demand and data center power use collide.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect supply increases for Pepco's customers.