District of Columbia Municipal Aggregation Program

A New Way to Take Advantage of Choice in the District of Columbia

District of Columbia electricity ratepayers have had the option to choose their electricity supplier since 2000. Pepco is the electricity distribution company for the DC, and is required to provide default electric service including electric supply through Standard Offer Service (SOS). The DC Municipal Aggregation Program allows participants to group together in order to receive a rate competitive with Pepco's SOS. The purpose is to get the lowest price for electricity and beat Pepco's rate by using the group's strength to attract more competitive electric suppliers' bids.

Reverse Auction

The District Government has successfully used the reverse auction method through DC MAP in buying electricity supply since 2004. This has resulted in savings of $5.4 million for a 24-month contract and $30 million over 36-month contract, respectively, for DC taxpayers. In a normal auction bidders try to outbid the competition by offering a higher price to win. In a Reverse Auction the Electricity Suppliers must offer a lower price to win. The reverse auction starts with a maximum price which is based on the Price to Compare. The maximum price is the starting price for bids and suppliers are then able to compete for your business by offering their lowest price. At the end the supplier offering the lowest price wins.

How to Participate

You must be a DC resident and choose to opt-in. To opt-in simply means you choose to participate. All District electric ratepayers can opt-in. Your electricity usage information will be combined with other similar ratepayers so Electricity Suppliers may offer bids.

To Opt-in: complete, sign, and return the Opt-In Form with a copy of the FRONT and BACK of your most recent Pepco Bill to:

DC MAP DDOE Energy Administration
1200 First  Street, NE 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20002

Billing and Contract Length

You will continue to receive your electricity bill from Pepco. As the distribution company Pepco will continue to serve as your first contact regarding service and service interruptions.

The DC MAP will solicit bids from DC Public Service Commission licensed electric suppliers for electricity supply for a minimum period of 12 months. The winning Electric Supplier will notify Pepco of your change of supply service. If your meter read date is less than 17 days from the notification date your contract will not begin until the following meter read date. Pepco will confirm your choice of Electricity Supplier, resulting from the DC MAP reverse auction, by sending a letter to you regarding your choice. You have ten (10) days from the date Pepco sends a notice of enrollment stating your choice, to rescind your choice of Electricity Supplier.

Fees and/or Penalties

If you have already chosen a supplier and are currently under contract for your electricity supply, please carefully review the contract for fees or penalties associated with cancellations prior to the end of the contract period. The winning Electric Supplier will provide you with a copy of its Terms and Conditions. You should review these carefully for any fees, especially concerning contract cancellation terms, non-payment and late payment penalties. Questions about these fees may be addressed by contacting the Electric Supplier, Office of People's Council at (202) 727-3071, Public Service Commission at (202) 626-5120, or the DC Municipal Aggregation Program Administrator at (202) 673-6700.

Changes in Your Bill

On page one of your bill you will find a Meter Summary and Account Summary. The Meter summary tells you your meter number, your rate classification, which indicates how you receive electricity service and how you are charged for that service, and how much electricity in kilowatt hours (kWh) you have used during the billed service period. In this section you will also find the date of your next scheduled meter read. The Account Summary describes charges due and payments received. On page two you will find Additional Contact Information and Account Details. Your Account Details will look different if you choose an Electricity Supplier in lieu of Pepco SOS. Distribution Services will remain unchanged; however the Electricity Supplier will be noted for the Generation and Transmission services. Under this section is your Energy Usage History over the last 13 months. You will also find your Price to Compare, which can be used when comparing Electricity Supplier rates with Pepco. The DC MAP will use the average cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for generation and transmission service, based on your rate classification to establish a maximum rate for Electric Suppliers to begin bidding.