Sierra Club analysis from the Center for Climate Strategies shows the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act of 2018 would have a negligible impact on DC ratepayers, and any increased cost is expected to be offset by energy savings through efficiency measures.
The Clean Energy DC bill would put the District on track to do our part to protect the climate, primarily by increasing our supply of truly clean energy to 100% by 2032 and fully funding the DC Green Bank and Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) to increase energy savings. The changes to renewable energy requirements (RPS) and the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund (SETF) proposed in the bill are estimated to increase the average monthly household electric bill by just 1.63% in 2020 ($3.26) to 2.33% by 2032 ($5.25).1 Those increases would likely be more than offset by significant energy savings as a result of efficiency requirements and new programs from the SEU and Green Bank, meaning the average household’s electricity bills would not increase.
In 2017 the District’s energy efficiency programs reduced energy needs by just under 1%, well short of our neighbors in Maryland and other states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic who are achieving at least 2% savings annually. The Clean Energy DC Bill makes a number of improvements to efficiency and clean energy programs in the District that are expected to save families and businesses money on their monthly electric bills, even as we lead the Nation in reaching 100% clean energy by 2032:
- Requires the District’s largest buildings that are lagging behind to improve efficiency
- Temporarily increases funding for energy savings programs like the SEU and Green Bank
- Delivers truly clean energy by requiring renewable energy purchases be within the regional electric grid that the District is part of
The cumulative impact of these improvements is expected to bring the District up to at least the level of annual savings of our peers, an increase of 1% annually. As a result average household electric bills are likely to decline relative to business as usual.
More importantly District families and businesses will actually be contributing to avoiding the worst impacts of climate disruption. Right now we’re wasting money on our electric bills, since we pay for renewable energy credits (RECs) from projects outside our regional electric system. Those payments don’t actually reduce climate pollution because those projects aren’t being built because of that extra income or to serve customers here in the District.
Passing the Clean Energy DC Bill will benefit the District’s families, businesses, and protect our climate.
1 Rate impact assumes comparable REC prices to NJ and MD and doubled SETF for electric customers phased down by 2032