DMV residents see utility bills spike as bitter cold grips region

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - With persistent cold weather plaguing the D.C. region, many residents have been experiencing sticker shock when looking at their energy bills. 

Pepco, one of Maryland’s major energy suppliers, tells FOX 5 that 70 percent of your energy usage is heat — obviously why so many homes saw prices spike in January. 

FOX 5 meteorologist Tucker Barnes says according to the National Weather Service, this past January was 3.3 degrees colder than average.

Customers Feeling The Heat

What they're saying:

Customers have certainly noticed the changes to their bills. One told FOX 5 she couldn’t believe the cost but another says he was ready for it.

"It’s like equal to my gas this winter," Pepco customer Lois Greene said. 

"It wasn’t unusually high," customer Bill Landau said when asked if his bill was what he expected. "[I’ve] been watching it for many, many years." 

The People’s Counsel in Maryland tells Fox 5 they’ve seen a large number of complaints from Maryland residents about higher bills.

The People’s Counsel in the District of Columbia says their number of complaint calls have risen roughly 40% this year compared to last year.

FOX 5 also spoke to experts Wednesday for more context. They say generally, the cost to produce and distribute power has gone up.      

Some utilities in some places charge more than others for a myriad of reasons, from compliance with regulations to supply costs and aside from heat, there’s more demand in a more electrified world. Combine that with fees, rate increases that can vary by utility and that’s the crux of it. 

Ali Mehrizi-Sani is the director of Virginia Tech’s Power and Energy Center. He says some power plants have gone off-line in the last few years and demand has increased.

"We have all this conventional generation that is now reaching the end of it’s useful lifetime. And then we are bringing on new technologies on the system, but what’s making this complicated, our demand is really increasing exponentially because all these new sources of power loads we have on the system," said Ali Mehrizi-Sani.

Companies Working To Keep Up

What's Behind the Bills:

Pepco representative Will Ellis also says January really was a unique month.

"The average temperature in November was about 60 degrees and now in January, it was 32 degrees, and today the weather is 25 degrees outside," Will Ellis said. "So the ability to heat your home and keep it at a comfortable temperature, your heating system has to work harder during these extreme temperatures and that has really led to really the big increase in usage that our customers have been seeing." 

Pepco and other utilities stress they have programs to help people and encourage customers to call them to figure out those options. They also say there are some things you can do to make your home more energy efficient — insulate the attics, smart thermostats, seal up windows and doors.

Pepco also announced they’re waiving late fees and pausing disconnections right now.