Washington, D.C. electricity rates & utilities
We track 1 Washington, D.C. utility and the rate cases at the District of Columbia Public Service Commission. You can shop your electricity supplier here — so the bill audit applies.
Washington, D.C. electricity prices by the numbers
Avg residential price
21.94¢/kWh
2025 · EIA
Change since 2019
+69%
+34% after inflation
Steepest single year
+23.9%
2024→2025
Standard Offer Service
16.25¢
Pepco (D.C.)
Prices: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Real change uses U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (CPI-U).
What's driving Washington, D.C. electricity prices
D.C. is served by a single regulated utility (Pepco) and has one of the nation's most aggressive clean-energy mandates — a Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring 100% renewable electricity by 2032 — which layers compliance costs onto delivery rates on top of regional supply pressures. Pepco's Standard Offer Service supply rates rose about 17.7% on June 1, 2025 (around $20.81 a month for a typical household), with further distribution increases approved through 2026. — D.C. Public Service Commission / Pepco.
How electricity rates work in Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C., Pepco delivers your electricity over the wires and is regulated by the D.C. Public Service Commission (PSC). The electricity itself (generation) is open to competition — you can shop a supplier or stay on the default.
That default rate is Standard Offer Service (SOS), which Pepco procures under PSC oversight. The SOS Price to Compare is the per-kWh figure you measure a supplier's offer against.
A rate increase in D.C. usually means a distribution rate case at the PSC, a change in the SOS Price to Compare, or — if you're on a third-party supplier — your own contract rate changing.
What you can do: Compare your supplier's rate to Pepco's Standard Offer Service Price to Compare. If you're paying more, you can drop the supplier and return to SOS — usually within 1–2 billing cycles.
Who's who on your Washington, D.C. electric bill
Four different players decide what you pay. Here's each one, in plain English:
Your utility — the "distributor"
The company that owns the poles and wires and physically delivers power to your home — the name on your bill (in Washington, D.C., one of the utilities listed below, like Pepco (D.C.)). This part is a regulated monopoly: only it delivers in your area, and the DC PSC sets what it can charge for delivery. You can't shop the delivery part.
Generation — the "supply"
The electricity itself (also called supply or generation). You can buy it from your utility's default rate — the Standard Offer Service — or from a competing third-party supplier. It's the identical electricity either way; only the price differs.
PJM — the "grid operator"
The independent operator that runs the regional high-voltage grid for Washington, D.C. and 12 other states. It's like air-traffic control for electricity — it keeps enough power flowing across the whole region. Its wholesale costs flow through your utility into your bill. (More below.)
The DC PSC — the "regulator"
The District of Columbia Public Service Commission is the state agency that reviews and approves utility rate increases. When a utility wants to charge more, it files a "rate case" here — which is exactly what we track.
Putting it together: when you turn on a light in Washington, D.C., the electricity was produced by power plants, routed across the region by PJM, and delivered to your house over Pepco (D.C.)'s wires (your distributor). Your bill charges you for both the supply (the electricity) and the delivery (the wires). If you signed up with a third-party supplier, they set the supply price; if not, you pay your utility's Standard Offer Service. The DC PSC approves the delivery rates and oversees the default supply rate.
What is "PJM" and its "capacity market"? (plain English)
PJM is the independent operator that runs the high-voltage power grid for 13 states and Washington, D.C. — including yours. Think of it as air-traffic control for electricity: it doesn't own power plants or your wires, but it makes sure enough electricity is flowing across the whole region every second of the day. The wholesale costs PJM sets get passed through your utility into your bill.
The capacity market is a separate, once-a-year auction PJM runs. Instead of paying for electricity you use, it pays power plants just to promise they'll be ready on the few hottest or coldest days when demand peaks. That promise is called "capacity." It's like paying a backup generator a retainer to stay on standby — you pay even in months you never need it.
Why it matters now: when PJM expects demand to jump, those standby payments spike. Demand is jumping largely because of data centers, and PJM's recent capacity auctions hit record highs three times in a row. Utilities pass that cost straight to customers — which is a big reason bills across all five states we cover are rising. Sources: PJM; PJM Independent Market Monitor (Monitoring Analytics).
Washington, D.C. electricity prices over time
The average Washington, D.C. residential electricity price went from 12.98¢/kWh in 2019 to 21.94¢/kWh in 2025 — up 69%.
Washington, D.C. utilities we cover
- Pepco (D.C.)
Standard Offer Service · 16.25¢/kWh
Coverage note: Washington, D.C. is served by a single electric distribution utility, Pepco. There are no other investor-owned, municipal, or cooperative electric utilities in the District.
Where to find your supply rate on a Washington, D.C. bill
Your utility's standard rate is the Standard Offer Service. On your bill, find the supply / generation rate in ¢/kWh and compare it to that — if a supplier charges more, you're overpaying. Here's the exact line to look for:
Where is this on my bill?
On your bill, find the supply rate in ¢/kWh. Your utility's standard rate is the “Standard Offer Service.” If your supplier charges more than that, you're overpaying.
Rate cases & increases
No active rate cases in our tracker for Washington, D.C. right now. We monitor the DC PSC dockets — get an alert when one is filed.