B26-0243: Automatic Enrollment for Utility Affordability Programs Act of 2025

May 6, 2025 Nyasha Howard Secretary to the Council Council of the District of Columbia 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20004 Secretary Howard: Today, along with Councilmembers Lewis George, McDuffie, Nadeau, Parker, and Robert White, I am introducing the “Automatic Enrollment for Utility Affordability Programs Act of 2025.” Please find enclosed a signed copy of the legislation. Rising utility costs have a severe impact on District residents. From 2000 to 2019, the average District resident’s electricity bill increased by over 75%—from approximately $55 to $98.1 Now, for one- quarter of low-income households in the DC Metropolitan Area, energy expenses account for nearly 16% of their income.2 This is more than four times higher than the median energy burden for other customers.3 Higher utility rates can exacerbate existing financial burdens for residents, many of whom are already struggling to keep pace with rising costs in the District. Households that are unable to keep up with energy bills eventually experience service disconnections, losing access to essential services like power and water. In 2024 alone, Pepco reported to the D.C. Public Service Commission that it issued disconnection notices to almost 40,000 low-income residential customers.4 Increased costs of living generally, especially for communities of 1 Ariel Drehoble et al., An Examination of District Residents’ Experiences with Utility Burdens and Affordability Programs, at 5, AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR AN ENERGY EFFICIENT ECONOMY, https://doee.dc.gov/sites/default/files/ dc/sites/ddoe/service_content/attachments/Report_An%20Examination%20of%20District%20Residents%E2%80% 99%20Experiences%20with%20Utility%20Burdens%20and%20Affordability%20Programs.pdf. 2 Roxana Ayala & Amanda Dewey, Data Update: City Energy Burdens, at 3–4, AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR AN ENERGY EFFICIENT ECONOMY, https://www.aceee.org/policy-brief/2024/09/data-update-city-energy-burdens 3 Id. at 4. 4 Pepco, Information on Disconnections for Non-Payment (updated January 21, 2025), https://edocket.dcpsc.org/apis/api/Filing/download?attachId=217324&guidFileName=da131ed2-3c90-465d-9dde- 083ac4dfaecc.pdf. 1

color, has caused District residents to struggle to afford basic necessities—resulting in worse health and financial outcomes.5 The Department of Energy and Environment (“DOEE”) administers several utility affordability programs that help District residents with their utility bills, including the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the Utility Discount Programs, the Weatherization Assistance Program, and the Clean Rivers Impervious Area Charge Residential Relief Program. Generally, enrollment in each of these programs requires residents to submit an individual application and demonstrate that they meet certain income restrictions. DOEE, to its credit, often refers residents enrolled in one of its utility affordability programs to its other programs, helping residents take full advantage of all the benefits offered by the agency. But, despite rising utility costs, the reality is that we aren’t reaching enough people with the solutions we already have available because the process to enroll is too cumbersome or they may simply be unaware of the assistance they could receive. This bill would change that. To ensure that all households receive the utility assistance available to them, this bill would require that DOEE launch a system through which it can automatically enroll qualifying households in its utility affordability programs. Specifically, the bill requires that the Department of Human Services (“DHS”) and the Department of Health Care Finance (“DHCF”) provide DOEE with enrollment data for any income-qualified programs administered by those agencies, including SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid. DOEE would use this information to enroll households in its own utility affordability programs. To protect individual privacy, the bill requires that households affirmatively consent to have their information shared by DHS or DHCF with DOEE for the purposes of automatic enrollment, and any information shared would be limited to that purpose, absent explicit consent from the household. The bill also requires that households that have been automatically enrolled receive notice of their enrollment, the date they can expect to receive the benefit, and the amount they will receive. Providing a transparent and efficient enrollment process will allow residents to maximize savings and reduce energy burdens. Low-income households experience the highest energy burdens in the District and will benefit the most from this automatic enrollment system. By creating a system that, when completely implemented, automatically enrolls low-income households in income-based assistance programs, the District government can ease the burdens caused by rising utility bill costs and streamline the process for getting help. Sincerely, Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6 Chairperson, Committee on Transportation & the Environment 5 Stephen Woolf et al., Uneven Opportunities: How Conditions for Wellness Vary across the Metropolitan Washington Region, VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY CENTER ON SOCIETY AND HEALTH, (October 26, 2018), https://mwcog.org/documents/2020/10/26/uneven-opportunities-how-conditions-for-wellness-vary-across-the- metropolitan-washington-region-health-health-data 2

1 _____________________________ ______________________________ 2 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George Councilmember Charles Allen 3 4 5 _____________________________ ______________________________ 6 Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau 7 8 9 _____________________________ _____________________________ 10 Councilmember Zachary Parker Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 11 12 13 14 A BILL 15 16 ________ 17 18 19 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 20 21 _________________________ 22 23 24 To require that the Department of Energy and Environment create a system through which it 25 automatically enrolls District residents into income-qualified utility affordability 26 programs. 27 28 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 29 act may be cited as the “Automatic Enrollment for Utility Affordability Programs Act of 2025”. 30 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon request by the Department of Energy 31 and Environment (“DOEE”) for the purposes described in subsections (b) and (c), the following 32 agencies shall provide, or cause to be provided, the information listed below to DOEE, including 33 personal identifying information: 34 (1) For the Department of Human Services (“DHS”), enrollment data from 35 households participating in any program administered by DHS, the eligibility of which is based on 36 household income, including the District’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (“TANF”) 1

37 Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”), or the Special Supplemental 38 Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (“WIC”); and 39 (2) For the Department of Health Care Finance (“DHCF”), enrollment data for 40 households participating in any program administered by DHCF, the eligibility of which is based 41 on household income, including Medicaid. 42 (b)(1) DOEE, in consultation with the Public Service Commission and the Office of 43 People’s Counsel, shall launch a system for automatically enrolling eligible households in DOEE’s 44 income-qualified utility affordability programs within one year of the effective date of this act. 45 (2) If funds are not available to automatically enroll all eligible households, DOEE 46 may prioritize automatic enrollment for households in the following order of need: 47 (A) Low-income households experiencing severe energy burden; 48 (B) Low-income households experiencing high energy burden; and 49 (C) Low-income households. 50 (3) DOEE may prioritize which of its utility affordability programs into which it 51 automatically enrolls households. 52 (c)(1) DOEE shall use the information obtained as described in subsection (a) to 53 automatically enroll eligible household using the system launched pursuant to subsection (b)(1). 54 (2) The system developed pursuant to subsection (b)(1) shall: 55 (A) Require affirmative consent from a member of the household prior to 56 automatically enrolling that household, in a manner to be determined by the Mayor; 57 (B) Allow households to decline, opt out, or withdraw from automatic 58 enrollment at any time; 2

59 (C) Include a data-sharing protocol that ensures that individuals’ personal 60 identifying information, including the individual’s name, account number, service address, phone 61 number, shall not be shared for purposes other than automatic enrollment in utility affordability 62 programs without the individual’s affirmative consent; and 63 (D) No later than 60 days after enrolling an eligible household pursuant to 64 subsection (c)(1), inform the household: 65 (i) That the household has been automatically enrolled in utility 66 affordability programs; 67 (ii) The anticipated date by which the household will begin receiving 68 benefits through the utility affordability program in which the household was enrolled; and 69 (iii) What the anticipated monthly benefits will be through the utility 70 affordability program. 71 (4) If the development of a new, or updates to an existing, case management system 72 or information technology management system are needed to implement the requirements of this 73 subsection, DOEE shall endeavor to develop or update that system in a way that allows for other 74 District agencies to: 75 (A) Input information related to household income obtained from sources 76 other than those listed in subsection (a) of this section; and 77 (B) Automatically enroll households into income-qualified programs 78 administered by District agencies other than those specified in subsection (b)(1) of this section. 79 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 3

80 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact 81 statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 82 October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 83 Sec. 4. Effective date. 84 This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, 85 action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as provided 86 in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia 88 Register. 4