Title 34 — Public Utilities.

All conduits existing on July 7, 1898, within the fire limits, and all overhead electric light wires existing on July 7, 1898, without the fire limits in the District of Columbia are hereby legalized until otherwise provided by law, and house connections may be made with such ove…

The Mayor of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized to issue permits to electric light companies existing on July 8, 1898, in the District of Columbia for the extension of overhead electric wires existing on July 8, 1898, outside the fire limits and west of Rock Creek to b…

The Mayor of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized, under conditions and regulations to be prescribed by the Council of the District of Columbia, to permit the erection of poles and the stringing of overhead wires thereon outside of the fire limits and east of Rock Creek …

The Mayor of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized to grant permits for the repair, enlargement, and extension, under proper regulations to be prescribed by the Council of the District of Columbia, of electric lighting conduits existing on June 6, 1900, and in every condu…

The Mayor of the District of Columbia is authorized to grant permits for the repair, enlargement, and extension, under proper regulations, of existing electric-lighting conduits, and in every conduit constructed or to be constructed under the provisions of this section, 3 ducts s…

The Mayor of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to permit the Potomac Electric Power Company to make connections between its conduits and the conduits of the Washington Railway and Electric Company and all other companies controlled by the Washingto…

(a) For the purposes of this chapter, the term: (1) “Black liquor” means the spent cooking liquor from the Kraft process of paper making. (1A) “Brush” means shrubs and stands of short, scrubby trees that do not reach merchantable size. (2) “Commission” means the Public Service Co…

(a) The Commission shall implement a renewable energy portfolio standard which applies to all District of Columbia retail electricity sales, except as provided under subsection (b) of this section. (a-1)(1) For nonresidential solar heating, cooling, or process heat property syste…

(a) Energy from a tier one renewable source: (1) Shall be eligible for inclusion in meeting the standard regardless of when the generating system or facility was placed in service; and (2) May be applied to the percentage requirements of the standard for either tier one renewable…

(a) Each electricity supplier shall submit an annual compliance report to the Commission, by a date and in a form prescribed by the Commission. (b)(1) Each report shall include clear and concise information that: (A) Demonstrates that the electricity supplier has complied with th…

(a) The Commission shall allow the local distribution company to recover actual dollar-for-dollar prudently costs incurred, including a compliance fee under § 34-1434, in complying with a mandated renewable energy portfolio standard. The electricity distribution company may also …

(a) There is established a fund designated as the Renewable Energy Development Fund, which shall be separate from the General Fund of the District of Columbia and shall be used solely for the purposes set forth in this section. All fees, payment, investment earnings, or other fun…

(a) The Commission shall select a market-based renewable electricity tracking system to facilitate the creation and transfer of renewable energy credits. (b) The Commission may designate the Energy Office to administer the electricity tracking system. The Commission or the Energy…

(a) An electricity supplier may use accumulated renewable energy credits to meet the renewable energy portfolio standard by submitting them to the Commission as evidence of compliance. (b) A renewable energy credit may be sold or otherwise transferred. (c) Except as authorized un…

(a) The Commission may impose an administrative fee on a renewable energy credit transaction, but the amount of the fee may not exceed the Commission’s actual direct cost of processing the transaction. (b) On or before May 1 of each year, the Commission shall provide a report to …

(a) The definitions added to § 34-1431 by D.C. Law 20-245 (“amendment act”) shall apply to District of Columbia Standard Offer Service wholesale supply contracts effective on or after June 1, 2015. (b) The definitions added by the amendment act shall apply after December 31, 2017…

For the purposes of this chapter, the term: (1) “Affiliate” means a person who directly or indirectly, or through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or has directly or indirectly, any economic interest in another person. (2) “…

The Council of the District of Columbia adopts the following policy findings in support of community renewable energy: (1) Local communities benefit from the deployment of tier one renewable energy in the District, and the Council hereby encourages the Department to establish pro…

(a) On and after the initial implementation date, the supply and sale of electricity shall not be regulated except as expressly set forth in this chapter. (b)(1) Unless accelerated or delayed pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, customer choice shall begin on the initial i…

(a) Competitive billing shall begin on the initial implementation date and shall be implemented according to a schedule to be determined by the Commission. The Commission shall have the discretion to implement competitive billing for all customers on a single date. (b) This secti…

(a) The Commission’s assessment, approval, and oversight of restructuring plans, pilot programs, and the transition process, and regulation of the restructured electric industry, shall ensure orderliness and electric system reliability and shall take into consideration the intere…

(a) All electricity suppliers must obtain a license issued by the Commission in order to do business in the District of Columbia. (b) An application for an electricity supplier license shall: (1) Be made to the Commission in writing on a form adopted by the Commission; (2) Be ver…

(a)(1) The electric company shall provide distribution services to all customers and electricity suppliers on rates, terms of access, and conditions that are comparable to the electric company’s own use of its distribution system. The electric company shall not operate its distri…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term “forecast of extreme temperature” means a National Weather Service forecast for the District of Columbia of 95 degrees Fahrenheit or above during any time of a day or of 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below during any time of a day. (b) An…

(a)(1) Unless a customer consents in writing, a market participant or the electric company may not disclose information that: (A) Is about the customer; and (B) Was supplied to the market participant or electric company by the customer. (2) This restriction shall not apply to: (A…

(a) For a violation of any provision of this chapter or a violation of any regulation or order issued under this chapter, after notice and a hearing, the Commission may: (1) Suspend or revoke a license of a market participant; (2) Impose a civil penalty on a market participant or…

(a) Standard offer service is electricity supply made available on and after the initial implementation date to: (1) Customers not yet allowed to choose an electricity supplier under the phase-in of customer choice under § 34-1502; (2) Customers who contract for electricity with …

(a) The electric company shall be provided an opportunity to recover all of its prudently incurred and verifiable net transition costs, subject to full mitigation, following the Commission’s determination under subsection (b) of this section. In connection with the foregoing: (1)…

(a)(1) The electric company may make an application to the Commission to recover all costs that have been or will be incurred by the electric company under public purpose programs established by law or ordered by the Commission, including the consumer education program establishe…

(a) The Commission and the Office of the People’s Counsel shall monitor the District of Columbia retail markets for electricity supply and services declared by the Commission to be potentially competitive services to ensure that the markets are not being adversely affected by ant…

(a) Other than its provision of standard offer service, the electric company shall not engage in the business of an electricity supplier in the District of Columbia except through an affiliate. (b) An affiliate of the electric company must obtain a license under § 34-1505 to enga…

Repealed Repealed.

(a)(1) The Mayor may develop and administer a municipal aggregation program for the purchase of electricity supply and electricity supply services by District of Columbia ratepayers. (1A)(A) There is established a fund designated as the Municipal Aggregation Fund, which shall be …

No person shall construct an electric generating facility for the purpose of the retail or wholesale sale of electricity unless the Commission first determines, after notice and a hearing, that the construction of the electric generating facility is in the public interest.

(a) For the purposes of this section, “renewable energy source” means one of the following sources of energy: (1) Solar; (2) Wind; (3) Tidal; (4) Geothermal; (5) Biomass; (6) Hydroelectric facilities; and (7) Digester gas. (b) Every 6 months after the initial implementation date,…

(a) The Commission may establish a program which affords eligible customer-generators the opportunity to participate in net energy metering. (b) Any net energy metering program established by the Commission shall be subject to the following: (1) The program may include, as the Co…

(a) A community renewable energy facility may produce no greater than 5 megawatts of electricity and must have at least 2 subscribers. (b) A subscriber to an eligible community renewable energy facility may offset no more than 120% of the subscriber’s electricity consumption over…

(a) In overseeing a sale by the electric company of any or all of its generation assets, the Commission shall ensure that the sale: (1) Will not affect the reliability of the electricity supply in the District of Columbia in a deregulated electricity supply market; and (2) Will m…

Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to require the Commission to modify, set aside, or otherwise adjust the terms of a settlement approved by the Commission in Formal Case No. 945. To the extent the existence of a settlement obviates the need for proceedings or findings as ar…

(a) An entity selling or reselling an interest in a community renewable energy facility shall provide a disclosure to the potential subscriber that includes the following, prior to the sale or resale of that subscription: (1) A good faith estimate of the annual kilowatt hours to …

Pursuant to §§ 34-1101 and 34-901, the electric company may seek recovery of any costs associated with the implementation of this chapter in a base rate case. In a base rate case filing that includes recovery of such costs, the electric company shall include in its filing with th…

For the purposes of this chapter, the term: (1) “Building” means all of the individual units served through the same utility-owned meter within a property defined as Class 2 Property under § 47-813(c-6). (2) “Building owner, operator, or manager” means any person or entity respon…

(a) The Commission shall promulgate rules, including standards, under which any owner, operator, or manager of a building which is not individually metered for electricity or gas for each nonresidential rental unit may install submetering equipment or energy allocation equipment …

(a) Energy submetering equipment or energy allocation equipment may be used in a building if it is authorized in the rental agreement or lease for the nonresidential rental unit. All energy submetering equipment and energy allocation equipment shall meet the requirements and stan…

For purposes of this chapter, the term: (1) “Advanced Metering Infrastructure” or “AMI” means a system capable of providing 2-way communication with metering equipment to gather at least hourly energy consumption data on a daily basis for all customers. (2) “ARRA” means the Ameri…

(a) The electric company may implement an Advanced Metering Infrastructure for all consumers, provided, that the electric company obtains a sufficient amount of federal funds for AMI implementation under the ARRA. The sufficiency of the amount of the federal funds obtained shall …

A suitable and impartial person, competent as a chemist, who is not a stockholder or employee in any gas works, shall be appointed by the Public Service Commission to be designated and known as Inspector of Gas and Meters, whose duties shall be to test and determine the illuminat…

A laboratory shall be provided and fitted up by the Washington Gas Light Company, subject to the approval of the Public Service Commission, in the central part of the City of Washington, at a distance as near as may be, of 2,000 feet from any gasworks, and furnished with suitable…

Two additional laboratories shall be provided and fitted up by the Washington Gas Light Company, subject to the approval of the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and shall be furnished with suitable apparatus, to the satisfaction of the said Mayor, at a total cost not to exceed …

The company, person or persons furnishing the gas may, if they see fit, on each occasion of the testing of the gas by the Inspector, be represented by some officer, but such officer shall not interfere in the testing.