Pepco will raise rates for its D.C. customers by about 15 percent on June 1, the second increase in five months facing the power company’s 235,000 District customers.
The increase was first announced last week in an insert mailed with April bills. The cost of standard service is expected to jump $12.75 per month for the average residential customer for “Generation Services,” Pepco’s term for the electricity it buys on the open market via auctions. Monthly bills will increase from $82.38 today to an average of $95.13, Pepco said.
The D.C. Public Service Commission in February approved a lesser rate increase for Pepco’s distribution services. That 2.27 percent jump covered the cost of the poles, wires and high-tech equipment used to deliver power to D.C..
But generation makes up the vast majority of a customer’s bill. And the cost of coal, nuclear power and natural gas are all on the rise, Pepco spokesman Robert Dobkin said.
“Unfortunately we’re in a global energy pricing situation in which energy prices across the board are rising,” he said.
As the price continues to climb, Dobkin said, customers should look for ways to reduce their electricity bills, such as switching to fluorescent light bulbs, reducing home water heaters to 130 degrees, replacing air filters frequently and washing clothes in cold water.
“People I think do understand that the cost of energy is rising, and to help control your bill there are measures you can take to use it more efficiently,” he said.
People’s Counsel Elizabeth Noel, who represents D.C. residents at the commission, argued Pepco is reaping the profits of being the only energy provider in the city. The utility charges a monthly fee that generates up to $15 million annually for administering the auction program, she said, and since deregulation in 2005, the cost of electricity generation has increased 62 percent.
“They get paid a lot of money, and we have no choice,” Noel said.
