Overview

Resources and Consumption

The District of Columbia has few energy resources. About two-thirds of energy consumption comes from the commercial sector. The overall average price of energy in the District of Columbia is among the highest in the United States largely because it has the highest natural gas prices and the second highest motor gasoline prices in the contiguous United States.

Petroleum

The District of Columbia requires district-wide use of reformulated motor gasoline blended with ethanol. The District relies on petroleum products supplied by pipeline.

Natural Gas

Most natural gas in the District of Columbia is consumed by the commercial sector. The residential sector is another important natural gas consumer, as nearly two-thirds of the homes in the District are heated by natural gas. The District receives its natural gas via Virginia and Maryland; the majority of the area’s natural gas is supplied by a major pipeline originating in the Gulf Region.

Coal, Electricity, and Renewables

The District of Columbia has two distillate fuel oil-fired power plants, Benning and Buzzard Point. Both plants are more than 35 years old, and for many years now have been used primarily as peaking plants, operating only a few hours per year during times of highest electricity demand. Both are scheduled to be shut down in 2012. The coal-fired Capitol Power Plant, which began generating electricity in 1910, now provides steam for heating and chilled water for cooling the Capitol, the House and Senate office buildings, the Supreme Court building, and other buildings within the Capitol Complex. Most of the electricity consumed in the District of Columbia comes from adjacent States. The price of electricity to residential consumers is lower than the price to commercial consumers, whereas the U.S. average price is higher to residential consumers than to commercial consumers.

In 1993, the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area joined the Clean Cities program. The program consists of 90 coalitions whose objectives are to promote alternative fuel use, reduce petroleum consumption, and promote measures such as idle reduction and alternative-fueled vehicles including hybrid electric vehicles. In 2005, the District adopted a renewable portfolio standard that requires utilities to provide 20 percent of retail electricity sales from renewable sources by 2020.