DC’s electric and gas utilities should serve the public, not private profit. Pepco and Washington Gas, our investor-owned electric and gas utilities, leave our low-income neighbors in the dark and in debt, actively hinder DC’s climate goals, and remain unaccountable to DC residents.

We pledge our support for replacing Pepco and Washington Gas with a publicly owned municipal utility system that is just, accessible, and sourced from 100% clean energy. We support building a democratic, transparent utility system that is directly accountable to all consumers, utility workers, and those most vulnerable to climate injustice in the District.

By taking public ownership of Pepco and Washington Gas, we can power a just energy future for all of DC.

Public power principles:

• No debt, and no shutoffs. Our utility system must treat everyone with dignity. A not-for-profit utility system would make energy a public good, ensuring everyone has access to affordable and reliable electricity and gas regardless of their ability to pay. Access to energy is a human right, and DC’s utility system should reflect this.

• Fight the climate crisis. At this critical moment in the climate crisis, we must swiftly transition to a zero-emission utility system; invest public resources in clean energy and well-paying, decent, green jobs; and ensure that the costs of that transition are not passed on to DC’s most vulnerable residents. Pepco and Washington Gas, which persistently ignore DC’s climate goals to preserve their profits, will do none of this, and in fact have actively fought against clean energy infrastructure projects in DC, including community solar.

• Democratic multi-stakeholder governance. Everyone―from utility workers to consumers―has a stake in our utility system and deserves a say in how it functions. Our mayor-appointed Public Service Commission, which oversees DC’s utilities, hardly represents the will of DC’s working people. A public power utility, on the other hand, offers DC residents the opportunity to decide where their energy comes from, how much it costs, and where energy infrastructures are sited across our communities.

Sign the public power pledge to show your support! And click here to join our movement alongside people just like you who are standing up for an utility system that puts people over profit.