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Commissioners press Washington Gas on customer transition, staffing and possible year-end surge
Summary
Commissioners asked whether Washington Gas will continue energy-efficiency work after Empower ends, questioned the company's plans for affected staff, and raised concern a late surge in applications could create operational strain or unmet commitments for customers.
Commissioners questioned Washington Gas about how an Empower termination will affect staff, customer expectations and greenhouse-gas goals for 2026. "I have to say that I am really troubled that the response of WGL is to say, okay, no more Empower, and therefore, we're getting rid of all energy efficiency programs," Commissioner Suchman said during questioning about residential program continuity.
Josh McClellan said WGL would like to continue energy-efficiency work but that removing Empower eliminates the surcharge-based infrastructure the company used to recover program costs. "We don't have the ability or the infrastructure to fund these programs unless we go to some very complex rate case and design," McClellan said, and added that Washington Gas is preparing contingency communications (plan A and plan B) depending on the commission's decision.
Commissioners also pressed the company on whether an end-of-year rush of applications is likely; WGL said current forecasts show only a marginal increase but acknowledged some customers could react to the impending statutory deadline. Gregory Desautels noted that reductions achieved under existing programs have persisted and clarified that the RNA adjusts for weather variation as well as decoupling for efficiency.
