Attorney General Schwalb Advocates for Public Service Commission to Reject Washington Gas Pipe Replacement Plan That Would Raise Rates for DC Residents

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), along with the Office of the People's Counsel (OPC) and the Sierra Club, secured a new hearing before the DC Public Service Commission to reconsider Washington Gas Light Company's (Washington Gas) pipe replacement plan, "District SAFE," which according to Washington Gas, will require $215 million over three years raised through a surcharge on customers' gas bills. The PSC granted a motion for rehearing filed by OAG, OPC, and the Sierra Club, and is holding a new hearing on the next phase of Washington Gas's pipe replacement plan (previously called PROJECT pipes) on Monday, July 27 and Tuesday, July 28, 2026.

In March 2026, the PSC approved a modified version of the District SAFE plan, after only a limited hearing. At Washington Gas's current pace, the Company would need many decades and billions of customers' dollars to completely replace its gas pipeline system, even as DC residents are struggling with rising energy bills and the District is working to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. OAG, OPC, and the Sierra Club argued that the PSC did not have enough evidence to approve Washington Gas' plan and should have required Washington Gas to provide more information-including how the plan will control costs and prevent further rate increases for DC residents, whether it prioritizes the most urgent pipe repairs, and how it advances the District's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At today's hearing, OAG attorneys will have an opportunity to cross-examine Washington Gas's witnesses and continue advocating for safeguards that stop Washington Gas from passing unnecessary costs along to customers.

"Skyrocketing utility bills are worsening an affordability crisis for DC residents, and we cannot continue to give Washington Gas a blank check funded on the backs of ratepayers, especially when its pipe replacement project is behind schedule, over budget, and locks us into paying for a gas system that will soon be obsolete," said Attorney General Schwalb. "Any plan the Commission approves must keep the community safe from dangerous gas leaks, ensure project funds are spent wisely, not wasted, and protect ratepayers from excessive and unwarranted rate increases."

"DC utility regulators have allowed Washington Gas to charge District residents almost half a billion dollars for wasteful spending on dirty energy infrastructure that raises energy bills, pollutes the air we breathe, and fuels the climate crisis," said Lara Levison, Sierra Club DC Chapter Energy Committee chair. "Enough is enough. It's time for the DC regulators to end the fossil fuel gravy train for DC's for-profit gas utility and put people over profits."

Background on Washington Gas's Pipe Replacement Plan

In 2014, the PSC approved the first phase of Washington Gas's plan to replace gas pipes across the city. The second phase of the project was approved in 2020. Over the past 12 years, Washington Gas has spent almost $400 million on the pipe replacement project but has only replaced a small portion of the old, leak-prone pipes in its system. Even as the project moved forward, the number of especially dangerous gas leaks that pose a direct threat to safety (called Grade 1 leaks) increased 40% from 2014 to 2022, raising questions about whether Washington Gas is prioritizing the most urgently-needed repairs.

The pipe replacement project is funded by a surcharge on customers' bills. DC residents have seen their gas bills increase about 13% from 2025 to 2026 alone, with about 37% of that increase due to the pipe replacement project. The proposed next phase of the project could raise gas bills for DC residents and businesses even higher.


The District's Opposition to Washington Gas's District SAFE Plan

Washington Gas has asked the PSC to approve a third phase of the pipe replacement plan, what it now calls District SAFE, at a cost of $215 million. The District, represented by OAG, opposed the plan, calling it "a more expensive continuation… with fewer guardrails" and writing in its brief that "when many District residents are struggling with an affordability crisis that is exacerbated by skyrocketing energy costs, the District SAFE Plan would accelerate the unsustainable trend of paying more for less, burdening gas ratepayers with increasingly expensive bills."

The District, members of the DC Council, and environmental activists have also argued that the project is slow and inefficient, costs significantly more than similar projects in other areas, and does not align with the District's environmental goals, which include requirements to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next 20 years. According to an expert report commissioned by the District, "at the planned pace for District SAFE, it would take over 150 years" to replace all of the gas pipes installed before 1970, and "it would cost about $6.2 billion." For comparison, the report estimates that the current value of Washington Gas's current system in DC is about $1.3 billion.


OAG, OPC, and the Sierra Club Secure a New Hearing

The PSC, in March 2026, initially approved a scaled-back version of Washington Gas's proposed plan, but later granted a motion for rehearing that OAG, OPC, and the Sierra Club filed. At the new hearing set for July 27-28, OAG will again ask the Commission to reject the plan and control costs for Washington Gas customers.

The Court's order granting the District's petition for rehearing is available here.

The Public Service Commission will hold a new hearing on Washington Gas's plan on Monday, July 27 and Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The hearing will be live-streaming on YouTube and can be accessed via the PSC's website, here.

This matter is being handled by Senior Assistant Attorney General Brian Caldwell, Special Assistant Attorney General Shilpa Sadhasivam, Assistant Chief of the Housing and Environmental Justice Section Michael Maurer, and Section Chief Joanna Wasik.

OAG's Environmental Protection Track Record
OAG has a proven track record of protecting District residents from environmental harms and is committed to holding polluters accountable and standing up for communities impacted by environmental contamination. OAG's Housing and Environmental Justice Section investigates violations of local and federal environmental laws, and files lawsuits that seek to hold polluters responsible for the harm they caused, including by getting them to pay clean-up costs and make changes that benefit DC communities.

Over the past 10 years, OAG has secured over $120 million through both large and small environmental enforcement actions, including a $57 million recovery from Pepco for contaminating the Anacostia River for decades. OAG has also taken action against bus companies for routinely idling engines in violation of DC air pollution laws; sued pest control companies for improperly applying dangerous chemicals outside of apartment buildings; and filed suit against paving and auto repair companies for allowing water contaminated with used oil and other pollutants to flow from their properties into DC waterways.

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