More than 1 million customers in the Washington area could receive discounted electricity bills thanks to President Trump’s tax legislation, but state regulators must approve the discounts.
Pepco Holdings, which provides electricity in the nation’s capital and Maryland, announced discounts Tuesday for 296,000 and 770,000 residents, respectively.
However, the discounts will have to wait until Pepco and Delmarva Power file with the Maryland Public Service Commission and the D.C. Public Service Commission in early February.
If approved by the commissions, Pepco and Delmarva Power would begin providing credits to customers before the end of March.
Pepco Holdings said the cut in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent under the law reduces its overall federal income tax burden, so it will pass that savings onto customers as a credit.
“The tax law will result in lower bills for our customers and lower taxes for Pepco and Delmarva Power,” said Dave Velazquez, president and CEO for Pepco Holdings. “We are pleased to provide these savings to our customers, while at the same time ensuring we are making prudent investments in the local power grid to maintain the safe, reliable, and affordable service our customers have come to expect.”
At the same time, Pepco is seeking to increase rates for consumers to pay for system upgrades it made in the last year, according to filings with the D.C. and Maryland commissions. Under the proposal, the average residential customer in Maryland would pay an extra $5.14 a month, while D.C. residents would pay an extra $7.50 a month.
Nearby Virginia-based Dominion Energy started the trend last week by saying it would be cutting its customers rates by 5 percent in South Carolina. That sparked some state officials such as the governor of energy-intensive Louisiana, Democrat John Bel Edwards, to ask the state’s energy commission to consider ordering utilities to give the income tax benefits to consumers.
Utility commissions in West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, and other states are examining the effects of the tax bill on utilities to provide a credit to customers.
