Power DC
A Vision for Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Energy
Your Pepco bill keeps climbing. Since 2023, the average DC household has seen monthly bills rise by $31, and a 17.7% supply charge increase hit in June 2025. In 2024 alone, Pepco disconnected power to nearly 12,000 DC families. Meanwhile, data center demand in Northern Virginia is driving up wholesale electricity prices for everyone in the region — including DC.
DC requires a unified strategy that lowers energy costs, ensures reliability, prepares for full electrification, and expands job opportunities. Power DC delivers that strategy — deploying proven technology now while building the clean firm power backbone for tomorrow.
Download PDF: [Power DC one-pager]
Why Your Bill Is So High
Your Pepco bill has two main parts — and DC residents are getting hit from both directions:
• Supply charges (~60%): The cost of electricity itself. Pepco buys this from PJM, the regional wholesale market, and passes the cost to you. When PJM prices spike — driven by data center demand in Northern Virginia — your supply charges go up.
• Distribution charges (~40%): What Pepco charges to deliver power to your home. Set by the DC Public Service Commission, which approved $123 million in rate increases for 2025-2026.
Power DC attacks both problems: We generate more power locally so DC buys less from PJM's volatile wholesale market, and we hold Pepco accountable for every dollar they charge.
The Two-Track Plan
Power DC operates on two tracks: immediate cost reduction through proven technologies, and long-term infrastructure to ensure DC is ready for full electrification.
Track 1: Immediate Cost Reduction (2027–2032)
Every Track 1 technology is already operational — many right here in DC.
• DC Public Building Solar: Solar on DCPS schools, DPR recreation centers, and DGS buildings — generating $8-15 million in annual savings directly to the General Fund. No upfront capital cost through Power Purchase Agreements.
• Federal Community Solar: GSA partnership to use federal rooftops for community solar, delivering $5-14 million annually in Pepco bill credits directly to DC residents — especially low-income families through Solar for All.
• Blue Plains Expansion: DC Water's Blue Plains already generates 10 MW of electricity and saves $20 million annually ($10M in electricity costs + $10M in reduced biosolids hauling). By partnering with DPW to divert food waste for co-digestion, we unlock millions in additional annual savings — without major capital expansion.
• Matter-of-Right Geothermal: Under existing DC law, geothermal systems are already permitted in most residential zones. No BZA variance needed. They deliver 35-60% reductions in heating and cooling costs. The barrier isn't zoning — it's financing and inertia.
• Sewer Heat Recovery: Wastewater maintains a constant 55-65°F year-round — a massive untapped thermal resource. The AGU Building in Dupont Circle has operated a sewer heat exchange system since 2018. DC Water is installing one at their own headquarters. We expand this to hospitals, recreation centers, schools, and government buildings for 40-60% HVAC cost reductions.
• Community Virtual Power Plants (VPPs): We have options beyond building new power plants, we will turn DC's buildings and vehicles into a shared grid resource. By networking thousands of batteries — from electric school buses to residential backup systems — we create a "Virtual Power Plant" that sells power back to the grid during peak pricing events, directing profits back to DC residents, not Pepco shareholders.
Track 2: Clean Firm Power Backbone (2032–2050)
Meeting DC's climate commitments requires full electrification of buildings and vehicles, which will substantially increase electricity demand. Solar and wind provide clean energy but not quickly enough to reach our goals. Track 2 builds the foundation for DC's fully electrified, zero-carbon future.
• Regional Clean Energy Partnerships: Long-term Power Purchase Agreements with Virginia offshore wind and regional utility-scale solar — locking in stable prices and reducing exposure to PJM wholesale market volatility for 20-30 year terms.
• District-Scale Geothermal Networks: Neighborhood-level Thermal Energy Networks serving dozens or hundreds of buildings through underground thermal exchange loops. Requires new legislation (Thermal Utility Authorization Act) but delivers 40-60% reductions in heating and cooling costs at community scale.
• Fusion Energy Readiness: Federal partnerships positioning DC for integration when fusion becomes commercially viable. Grid preparation, workforce development, and tracking progress with DOE and national labs.
Track 2 positions DC at the forefront of next-generation clean energy — without betting the city's future on any single technology. All Track 1 investments deliver value independently.
Creating DC Jobs
Power DC isn't just an energy plan — it's a workforce development strategy:
• Local hire and apprenticeship targets for solar, geothermal, and wastewater retrofit projects
• DOES-led training pipeline with unions and community college partners
• Procurement preference for DC-certified business enterprises (CBEs)
The Power DC Guarantee
By the end of the first term (January 2031), we will have achieved:
• Solar deployed on DC public buildings, reducing government electricity costs
• Federal community solar partnership delivering credits to Solar for All participants
• Food waste co-digestion partnership established between DPW and DC Water
• At least 2 sewer heat recovery installations operational or under construction
• Matter-of-right geothermal adoption significantly increased
• Thermal Utility Authorization Act passed; district geothermal pilot underway
• Regional clean energy PPA negotiations initiated
• VPP pilot program launched with electric school buses and residential battery participants.
Quarterly public dashboards will track MW installed, energy savings achieved, Solar for All credits generated, Blue Plains performance, and emissions reduced. Transparency over false precision — we will communicate honestly about delays, challenges, and revised timelines.
Why This Matters
The technology exists. The economics work. Blue Plains already saves $20 million a year. The AGU Building already heats and cools with sewer water. Geothermal is already legal in most DC neighborhoods. What's been missing is the will to scale what works.
"DC's greatest asset is its people: their expertise, creativity, lived experience, and deep civic commitment. Power DC builds a clean, resilient energy system and a people-centered economic infrastructure by creating pathways for District residents to develop, deploy, and operate the next generation of energy technologies." — Gary Goodweather
#PowerDC #GoodweatherForMayor #ExpectMore