Today, DC Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) is introducing emergency legislation to empower the next Mayor to select new members of the District’s Public Service Commission (PSC). The terms of two of the current commissioners – Emile Thompson and Ted Trabue – will expire on June 30, and current law allows them to “hold over” in their seats for only an additional 180 days, ending in late December, just days before a new Mayor will be sworn-in.  

This emergency legislation will extend their hold-over periods an additional 90 days into next year to allow the next Mayor to make her own nomination decisions. This will also allow the PSC to maintain a quorum necessary to conduct its business until new nominees are confirmed by the Council in the spring. Councilmember Allen chairs the Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment, which assumed oversight of the PSC earlier this year. 

“The Public Service Commission has the incredibly important job of regulating DC’s utility companies, and it’s time for a new direction. Just in the last year, DC residents have seen the greatest increase in electricity prices in the US. Our utility costs are unaffordable for most residents, and we’re failing to address the climate crisis as required under unanimously-passed Council legislation. The PSC should be pursing policies that lower energy costs, aggressively expand homegrown renewable energy, protect grid reliability, and ramp up battery storage and DC’s ability to respond to energy price spikes,” said Councilmember Allen. “The PSC’s commissioners are charged with executing on these priorities, but the District’s ratepayers need more urgency and vision. Given that we’re very close to having a new Mayor and the current commissioners’ terms are expiring, this legislation ensures the Public Service Commission can continue to meet until a new mayor can choose nominees that align with their policy priorities for the agency, as the Mayor will for every District agency, board, and commission. I want to thank Chairperson Emile Thompson and Commissioner Ted Trabue for their years of service to the District of Columbia and for continuing to ensure the PSC has stable leadership during this transition in government.”  

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