Energy Deregulation in Washington DC
Deregulated energy services: Electricity and natural gas.
Washington DC deregulated natural gas in 1999 and electricity in 2001. The market is fully deregulated, which means all energy consumers can choose their electricity and gas providers. The District of Columbia is almost fully dependent on imported energy since local consumption is 85 times higher than production.
Solar energy represents 42% of net generation in Washington DC.Ā A large portion of this electricity comes from distributed solar energy systems, and there are more than 8,700 throughout the city. Natural gas represents 41% of generation, while biomass accounts for the remaining 17%. However, all the electricity produced in Washington DC only covers 2% of consumption, and 98% must be imported.
As you might guess, Washington DC has no gas reserves or production, relying 100% on imports. Washington Gas is the utility company in charge of gas imports, and they also serve surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia.