Pepco Raked in $108 million Thanks To Recent Rate Increases. Another Bump Could Kick in Next Year, But It’s Being Challenged in Court.

This story was supported with funds from Spotlight DC—Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism.

When Pepco was asked to provide some tips for saving on energy costs in the sweltering summer months, as the heat index stretched into triple digits, a spokesperson suggested that D.C. residents should simply stop using their air-conditioners so much.

“When you hear your HVAC kicking on, it’s kind of like a cha-ching sign,” Chuck McCabe told WUSA9. “That’s dollars that’s going toward my energy bill.”

What McCabe and WUSA9 failed to report, however, is that Pepco requested a rate hike in 2019 that allowed the utility company to rake in $108 million from D.C. customers—but didn’t end up using most of it.

Then in 2023, Pepco went back to the Public Service Commission, which regulates D.C.