Page 34 - OPC_FlipBook

The Fight Against Unsustainable Infrastructure
Between 2000 and 2010, power outages and service disruptions, exacerbated by ice storms and damaged overhead electricity lines, plagued the city. Natural disasters, such as Hurricane Isabel in 2003, tested the region’s resilience. Then, although not a natural disaster, the 2008 recession hit D.C. hard, causing unemployment to spike and the real estate market to slow down. The unemployment rate was at an all-time high at 11.9% by the end of 2009.31 These economic disturbances coincided with a rise in home energy rates and long-term issues of electric reliability and led to growing dissatisfaction among utility consumers. Complaints about energy services reached unprecedented levels in 2009 — and regarding Pepco alone, OPC received 1,670 complaints, which was the most the Office had ever received about the utility provider.
Residents began showing up in full force at community hearings when utilities like Pepco began to demand rate increases: “Rates have doubled over the past five years. They should go back to the rates at which they were, and ultimately, in fact, electric service and all utilities should be considered human rights, human needs, and [should be] provided for all people,” said Ms. Sarah Sloan, a resident of Southeast D.C. Ward 8. She added: “Many of us have a lot of pride because we have a disability and because we’re private people, and we will suffer by having our electricity shut off and try to use candles and heaters, and we may die because of that.” The re-emergence of electric reliability issues in 2010 as a leading issue was instigated by a severe heat wave that triggered power outages across the city. Recognizing the opportunity to step in on behalf of consumers, OPC advocated for increased reliability, quality of service, and affordability at this time. At a roundtable that the D.C. Council convened, OPC recommended that the Council include the consideration of service quality and reliability in utility proceedings and require public utilities to educate ratepayers on how they should submit claims for damages caused by a utility’s operations. OPC challenged the utility companies to enhance their operations and advocated for investigations into reliability and service quality. The cost of ignoring improvements was too high.