District of Columbia · Competitive supply market
Commercial electricity in the District of Columbia
Eligible commercial accounts in Pepco territory in the District may buy supply from a licensed competitive supplier. Delivery, metering and outage response stay with Pepco under regulated tariffs.
What District of Columbia businesses pay for electricity
Average commercial electricity price in the District of Columbia
22.92¢ per kWh
12 months to August 2026 · EIA, preliminary
- vs US average (13.87¢)+65%above the national figure
- vs previous 12 months+20.3%from 19.06¢
- Final 2025 (EIA-861)20.43¢9th highest of 51 markets
- Average commercial customer21,822 kWha month, about 4,458 at the 2025 average
- Since 2020+72%US +26% over the same years
Show the numbers
| Period | District of Columbia | United States |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 13.42¢ | 10.19¢ |
| 2011 | 12.90¢ | 10.24¢ |
| 2012 | 12.02¢ | 10.09¢ |
| 2013 | 11.94¢ | 10.26¢ |
| 2014 | 12.19¢ | 10.74¢ |
| 2015 | 12.01¢ | 10.64¢ |
| 2016 | 11.72¢ | 10.43¢ |
| 2017 | 11.66¢ | 10.66¢ |
| 2018 | 11.97¢ | 10.67¢ |
| 2019 | 12.26¢ | 10.68¢ |
| 2020 | 11.85¢ | 10.59¢ |
| 2021 | 13.00¢ | 11.22¢ |
| 2022 | 15.60¢ | 12.41¢ |
| 2023 | 16.94¢ | 12.59¢ |
| 2024 | 17.07¢ | 12.75¢ |
| 2025 | 20.43¢ | 13.37¢ |
| 12 months to Aug 2026 (preliminary) | 22.92¢ | 13.87¢ |
Where the District of Columbia price goes
Where businesses buy energy from a competitive supplier, EIA reports the supplier's revenue and the utility's delivery revenue separately. In District of Columbia in 2025, 44% of the average commercial price was delivery — the part that does not change when you change supplier.
11.15¢ energy 8.70¢ delivery 84% of the District of Columbia's commercial kWh is sold this way
This is the average revenue per kWh from every commercial customer in the District of Columbia, from a corner shop to a hospital: energy, delivery, demand and other charges billed, divided by kWh sold. The average customer uses more than a typical small business, because a few very large customers pull the mean up. It is dated context for reading a bill — not a quote, not an available offer, and not what any one business pays.
What a typical building pays in the District of Columbia
The same federal survey of commercial buildings behind the cost estimator, run for a typical-sized building of eight common kinds and priced at the District of Columbia's average commercial price for the 12 months to August 2026. Typical size is the median floor area of the surveyed buildings of that kind, and the middle half is the range between the 25th and 75th percentile of them.
| Building | Typical size | Typical bill | Middle half | Survey basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office building | 5,000 sq ft | $1,300 | $800 to $2,000 | 509 in the South |
| Medical, dental or outpatient clinic | 5,500 sq ft | $1,700 | $990 to $2,300 | 83 in the South |
| Retail store or showroom | 6,500 sq ft | $1,300 | $890 to $1,900 | 146 in the South |
| Grocery or convenience store | 2,400 sq ft | $2,400 | $1,700 to $3,600 | 91 nationwide |
| Sit-down restaurant or cafeteria | 3,850 sq ft | $3,000 | $1,700 to $4,200 | 132 nationwide |
| Warehouse or distribution centre | 6,700 sq ft | $550 | $240 to $1,100 | 274 in the South |
| Hotel, motel or inn | 12,000 sq ft | $3,900 | $1,500 to $5,100 | 130 in the South |
| Gym, fitness or recreation facility | 8,300 sq ft | $1,500 | $1,100 to $2,800 | 148 nationwide |
A screening estimate, not a quote. The price is an average across every commercial customer in the District of Columbia, scaled for building size, and the buildings are whole buildings from EIA's 2018 survey, so a suite inside a larger building, or one with unusual hours or equipment, can differ a lot. Estimate your own building in the District of Columbia, or check a real bill.
What utilities billed commercial customers in the District of Columbia
For each utility, EIA records how many commercial customers it had in 2025 and the average revenue per kWh it billed them. The one District of Columbia utility with 500 or more commercial customers is shown.
| Utility | Type | Bundled customers | Bundled price per kWh | Delivery-only customers | Delivery-only price per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potomac Electric Power Co | Investor-owned | 18,534 | 23.62¢ | 9,071 | 8.70¢ |
It serves about 100% of the District of Columbia’s 27,607 commercial customers. All District of Columbia commercial customers together averaged 20.43¢ per kWh in 2025.
Bundled is the price paid by commercial customers who buy their energy and delivery from the utility, so it is an all-in price. Delivery-only is what the utility billed customers who buy their energy from a competitive supplier, so it is the delivery charge alone and cannot be compared with a bundled price. Each figure averages every commercial customer of that utility and service type, from a corner shop to a campus, so a utility with larger customers averages a lower price per kWh. It is dated context, not a quote and not an offer, and the utility that serves an address is named on its bill.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, 2025 final data. Utilities across the country · every utility as a CSV.
Eligible commercial accounts in Pepco territory in the District may buy supply from a licensed competitive supplier. The local utility continues to own delivery, metering and outage response under regulated tariffs that no supplier can change. Eligibility is confirmed from the account and its utility territory, keyed on the Account number, never from a ZIP code.
Source: District of Columbia Public Service Commission market structure; this site's market registry · 2026-10-31
Competitive supply market. DC-specific licensing and disclosure review required.
What a District of Columbia commercial account can actually do
Eligible commercial accounts in the District of Columbia can award a supply contract to a licensed supplier. The local utility continues to deliver the power, own the meter and restore outages, and continues to charge for that under a regulated tariff that no supplier can change.
That means two separate pieces of work, and the second is the one most buyers never get done:
- The supply decision. Run a real, time-boxed competition among qualified suppliers on identical verified facts, then hold the contract to what was awarded.
- The regulated half. Rate schedule fit, demand charges, ratchet exposure, power factor and billing accuracy. No supplier earns anything here, which is precisely why no supplier raises it.
Utility territories in the District of Columbia
Eligibility is determined by the utility territory serving the specific service address, not by the state and not by the ZIP code. One city can cross more than one territory.
| Utility | Role | Account keyed on | Territory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pepco (District of Columbia) | EDC | Account number | The entire District of Columbia. |
Where District of Columbia sits
Every US market on one view, coloured by what an account can actually do there. District of Columbia is highlighted, and every other tile is a link.
- 14 you can choose — businesses can pick their supplier
- 6 some can choose — by size, cap or program
- 31 utility only — other charges can still be fixed
Number on each tile: average commercial electricity price in cents per kWh, 12 months to August 2026 (EIA, preliminary).
Worth knowing in the District of Columbia specifically
Beyond the ordinary demand charge on your own peak, the grid serving District of Columbia allocates a further cost through a small number of hours per year. It is a delivery-side mechanism, so no supplier is involved and no supply contract affects it.
The timing matters: the work that reduces next year's charge has to happen during the window that sets it, not during the year you are paying it.
Before we can answer anything specific
We verify from the account, not from the address alone:
- The utility territory actually serving the service address
- Account number and customer class
- Current supply arrangement, including any aggregation and its termination status
- Contract expiry date and whether the decision window is open
- 12 months of consumption and, where metered, peak demand
Supplier comparison is not open in the District of Columbia yet. The free bill check shows how much of your bill a supplier could even touch and what is worth a look today, which is the same first step whichever way you go.