D.C. residents have until Friday to sign up for an electricity auction that could lop several dollars off the average customer’s monthly power bill.

The District government is trying to subscribe as many residents as possible in its Municipal Aggregation Program, an outgrowth of deregulation in which consumers amass their buying power to obtain better rates than those offered by Pepco. The more customers that participate in the upcoming reverse auction, the lower the bids from alternative power suppliers.

But if the city can’t convince a “critical mass” of people to sign on, then the bids will come in too high and the auction will fail, said George Hawkins, director of the District Department of the Environment.

The city last went to auction in 2006. Five government agencies participated, and the resulting $134 million, 36-month contract with Hess Corp. saved participants about two cents per kilowatt hour — a $30 million combined savings over three years. Hawkins couldn’t promise residents the same 10 to 20 percent savings on their power bills, but there’s no question, he said, that “the compelling need to reduce costs is very strong.”

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DDOE has attempted residential auctions before, but has always struggled to find willing participants. Though deregulation allows homeowners to choose an alternative energy supplier, there has been little interest in cutting ties with Pepco, whose rates were, until recently, capped by the D.C. Public Service Commission.

“We are very hopeful that we’ll have more this time,” Hawkins said. “It’s a very good idea. There’s very little downside risk. You’ll just save money.”

Power bills are separated into two parts: distribution and generation.

Pepco, which owns and maintains the District’s power lines and other infrastructure, remains the sole distributor of electricity in Washington. But it is power generation that comprises 80 percent of residential customers’ bills, and Pepco’s generation rates increased 15.5 percent, or $12.75 per month on average, on June 1.

“We support the concept if that’s what they want,” Pepco spokesman Bob Dobkin said of the District’s reverse auction plan. “If they think they can get a better deal, that’s fine, as long as the customers have a choice.”

To Participate:

  • Visit ddoe.dc.gov
  • Complete and sign the opt-in form
  • Mail, with a front-and-back copy of most recent Pepco bill, to:

      DC MAP DDOE Energy Office

      2000 14th St., NW, Ste. 300 East

      Washington, D.C. 20009

mneibauer@dcexaminer.com