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PR26-0583 • 2025

Rate Plan Vacatur Interim Protections Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

Rate Plan Vacatur Interim Protections Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Lewis George
Last action
2026-04-17
Official status
Approved
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide information on whether residents may still face higher electricity bills even if disconnections are paused.

Emergency Protection for Electricity Rates

This resolution declares an emergency to prevent electricity service disconnections in the District of Columbia after a court decision overturned and sent back a rate plan that increased electricity rates.

What This Bill Does

  • Declares an emergency situation due to the need to prevent electricity service disconnections in the District of Columbia.
  • Requires the Public Service Commission to restore electricity rates to those established before Order No. 22328, which were last effective in December 2024.
  • Pauses electricity service disconnections until the Commission takes action to reduce rates and provide relief to residents.

Who It Names or Affects

  • District of Columbia residents who are at risk of having their electricity services disconnected due to increased rates.
  • The Public Service Commission, which is responsible for setting and adjusting electricity rates in the District.

Terms To Know

Vacatur
A legal term meaning that a court decision or order is set aside as if it never happened.
Interim Protections
Temporary measures put in place to protect people until permanent solutions are implemented.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The resolution does not specify how long the interim protections will last.
  • It is unclear what actions the Public Service Commission must take after this emergency declaration.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-17 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Resolution R26-0375, Effective from Mar 31, 2026 Published in DC Register Vol 73 and Page 006084

  2. 2026-03-31 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Retained by the Council

  3. 2026-03-31 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Legislative Meeting

  4. 2026-03-31 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Approved with Resolution Number R26-0375

  5. 2026-03-27 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    PR26-0583 Introduced by Councilmember Lewis George at Office of the Secretary

Official Summary Text

Rate Plan Vacatur Interim Protections Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
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1 ______________________________ 2 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George 3 4 5 A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 6 7 ______________ 8 9 10 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 11 12 ______________ 13 14 15 To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Retail Electric 16 Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 1999 to disallow electricity service 17 disconnection in a period of time after an order approved by the Public Service 18 Commission is vacated and remanded. 19 20 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 21 resolution may be cited as the “Rate Plan Vacatur Interim Protections Emergency Declaration 22 Resolution of 2026”. 23 Sec. 2. (a) In January 2026, District residents experienced an extreme hike in electricity 24 rates leading to a spike in shutoff notices and reports of residents’ utilities bills doubling or 25 raising hundreds of dollars in a single month. (more info on reports from residents) 26 (b) On March 5, 2026, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals vacated and remanded 27 Orders Nos. 22328 and 22358 of the Public Service Commission which approved Potomac 28 Electric Power Company’s (Pepco) multi-year rate plan and $123.4 million rate increase over 29 two years (Order No. 22328) and denied the Office of the People’s Counsel’s request to the 30 Commission for reconsideration (Order No. 22358). 31 (c) Given this, the Commission should restore Pepco distribution rates to those 32 established prior to Order No. 22328, last in effect in December 2024, as these were the last rates 33 that maintain legal standing, per a recent filing by the Office of the People’s Counsel. 34

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(d) Until the Commission takes action to reduce rates to their previous amount and bring 35 immediate relief to ratepayers, District residents should not experience instability caused by 36 having their electricity service disconnected, which many are at substantially higher risk of 37 because of the inaction of the Commission. It is necessary to pause disconnection of electricity to 38 ensure that District residents are not unnecessarily harmed while the Commission and Council 39 weigh what actions should be taken to ensure electricity affordability in the longer term. 40 Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances in 41 section 2 constitute emergency circumstances, making it necessary that the Rate Plan Vacatur 42 Interim Protections Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026 be adopted after a single reading. 43 Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 44