By Sabreen Dawud
Special to the AFRO
WASHINGTON — Washington, D.C. mayoral candidate Talib Karim Muhammad and other organizers rallied against the recent increase in residents’ gas bills outside of the Washington Gas Light Co.’s facility in the southwest area of the city on Jan. 16.
Credit: Sabreen Dawud
The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (DCPSC) last year announced that the rate increase for Washington Gas was approved to take effect on Jan. 1. DCPSC estimates that the average residential heating customer’s bill will see an estimated increase of about 12.87 percent.
“If your bill is $98 every month then it will go up by $11. … This is our first rate increase in three years and this was fully litigated by the Public Service Commission,” said Lauren Brown, director of communications and external affairs at Washington Gas.
As they stood on Maine Avenue Jan. 16, Muhammad – with other protestors on his flank – addressed the values of his mayoral campaign along with concern for the effect that higher billing costs can have on residents of the nation’s capitol.
“One of the reasons why the gas bills are increasing is because they have built into their budget, —Washington Gas—more expenses than we should be paying for,” Muhammad said.
As an engineer and attorney, Muhammad said the rise in gas costs are a direct result of Washington Gas’ infrastructure not prioritizing residents financially.
“Instead of creating infrastructure affordable, infrastructure that is focused in terms of the money that we’re spending, they’re basically over billing creating more expenses because they want to give more money to their buddies who get the contracts,” he continued.
Conversely, Brown said Washington Gas does care about affordability and provides resources to customers who may struggle with gas costs.
“In the winter we have a nonprofit that we run at the company called the Washington Area Fuel Fund. It’s a really cool nonprofit and it was started about 30 to 40 years ago. It’s in partnership with the Salvation Army. So, throughout the year we collect donations from businesses, from individuals, from our own employees and we apply the funds directly to customers’ bills over the winter. We don’t want customers paying a bill over the necessities they need at home,” Brown said.
Washington Gas also has a billing assistance program known as Washington Gas Cares for customers experiencing financial hardship.
Still, many Washington residents say heightened pricing in utility bills remains overwhelming, raising concerns about their ability to stay in the city.
“I’m paying $200 to $300 a month. I know I have a house, but I have three kids. water bill is crazy . Sometimes I cannot afford it,” shared Kasim Temn, a resident in Northeast D.C.
A Washingtonian of 50 years, Jihad Abdus Salaam decried the effect that billing increases have had on residents over the years.
“It’s heartbreaking,” he said, “because you’ve seen people born in this city, have homes in this city, and now with the taxes and increases in utilities and rates they’re just moving us right on out.”