Payment Resources Available to Customers

We want to remind our customers of payment programs for those who may be experiencing financial conditions that make it difficult to keep their accounts current during these cold weather stretches and higher usage periods. Many of these arrangements can be made directly over the phone by calling (202) 833-7500 and following the simple instructions or through a customer service representative. Either way, we are more than glad to provide help through difficult periods  throughout the year.

• Special Payment Arrangements: we have a variety of individually tailored payment arrangements available for customers aimed at bringing their account up to date over a mutually agreeable period of time. Call (202) 833-7500 and follow the simple instructions or speak with  a customer service representative.
• Budget Billing: Customers can avoid seasonal peaks in electric bills by dividing their payments evenly over the course of the entire year. This plan makes it easier to budget and pay electric bills each month, because customers know their regular payment amount.

To sign up for budget billing, customers can register either by calling customer service at (202) 833-7500 or online through “My Account,” a secure self-service option that will allow customers to:

• View and pay their bills
• Sign up for eBill (paperless billing)
• Get e-mail notification when bills are ready
• Take advantage of features that can help save energy

Once customers register for My Account, they just need to log in and click on the “Budget Billing” button.

• Extended Payment Date Plan: This allows residential customers whose main source of total household income is from government or other low-income entitlement programs to request a regular extension of their bill due dates without incurring a late charge so their bill due dates align with the dates they get their checks. To apply, call us at (202) 833-7500 or submit the enrollment form online at pepco.com.
• Energy Assistance Programs: Some federal energy assistance may be available through state and local assistance programs. Customers can get more information on those programs by calling us at (202) 833-7500.

To save energy and money, customers can call Customer Service or visit our website at pepco.com/energy/conservation/ to learn more about programs to help pay for more energy-efficient products, simple steps to conserve energy usage and how to monitor energy consumption.

Give the Gift of Energy this Holiday Season

‘Tis the season of giving – and our Gift of Energy program provides a meaningful gift for the loved ones on your holiday list. You can help ease someone’s monthly expenses during the holiday season by making a payment on their energy bill with the Gift of Energy.

Giving the Gift of Energy is easy, and no different than making a payment on someone’s account. All you need is the name and address – not the account number – of the recipient.

The Gift of Energy can be purchased at one of our Walk-In Service centers (see list below), or by filling out a form on our website. After filling out the Gift of Energy contact form, a customer care representative will contact you to complete the transaction via phone. We will also send you a free holiday greeting card to notify the recipient of your generosity.

The Gift of Energy can be purchased in person at the following locations:

Washington, D.C.
701 Ninth Street, NW
Hours: Monday – Friday
8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Rockville, MD
201 W. Gude Drive
Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Friday only
10 a.m. to 2 p.m

MLK Business Office, Washington, D.C.
2804 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE
Hours: Monday – Friday
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Forestville, MD
8300 Marlboro Pike
Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Friday only
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

October is Energy Awareness Month

As we welcome fall foliage and football season, we also celebrate Energy Awareness Month in October. Here are a few tips to help you start saving energy in your home:

• Change Your Filters. Clean or replace the filter in your forced-air heating and cooling systems each month. Foam filters can be rinsed with water but be sure they are dry before replacing. Fiberglass filters need to be replaced periodically.

• Reduce Water Heating. Turn down the water heater temperature dial to 120 degrees F, or to the “warm” setting if you have a dishwasher. Be sure to check your manufacturer’s instructions for minimum water temperature.

• Try Efficient Lighting. Use compact fluorescent bulbs. They produce about three to four times as much light per watt as incandescent bulbs. While compact fluorescents are initially more expensive, they last up to 10 times longer.

• Charge Smarter. Put your laptop AC adapter on a power strip that can be turned off (or will turn off automatically) to maximize savings; the transformer in the AC adapter draws power continuously, even when the laptop is not plugged into the adapter.

You can find additional home energy saving tips on our website, and can monitor your home’s energy usage by logging into My Account.

Powering a Sustainable Future

We are committed to providing safe, reliable services that are energy efficient. Our business strategy features a strong commitment to enhancing sustainability efforts in the economy, environment, workforce and community.

To highlight our successes and challenges in advancing our sustainability strategy over the past year, our parent company, Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI), released its 2013 Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship Report. Improving reliability ultimately results in a better customer experience – and the past two years were the best in PHI’s reporting history for reliability performance.

We encourage you to learn more about our sustainability efforts outlined in our full 2013 Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship Report.  Below are a few highlights:

Economic Sustainability. We’re currently making investments that will positively impact our regional economy and overall customer experience. We continue to foster programs that support energy efficiency, and educate our customers about ways to conserve. Through our voluntary Energy Wise Rewards program, customers can save money and energy by using web programmable thermostats or outdoor switches to cycle central air conditioning compressors during peak usage hours.

Environmental Sustainability. The number of PHI’s business and residential customers who produce their own energy through generators, solar panels or wind has steadily increased. Additionally to support environmental reliability, we continue to be proactive in our recycling efforts. In 2013 PHI reduced, reused or recycled more than 88,000 tons of waste materials.

Sustaining our Workforce. Safety is our primary core value, and we are happy to report the lowest number of recordable injuries and preventable motor vehicle accidents in PHI’s history in 2013. This year, we also created our “Energize Results” initiative – encouraging employees to contribute to a culture of accountability, trust and teamwork.

Sustaining our Communities. We continue to place a high value on volunteerism and corporate giving. Overall, PHI and its employees volunteered more than 5,200 hours and donated roughly $4.7 million to more than 920 charities and non-profit organizations in our regions this year.

Our 2013 Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship Report summarizes our progress between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability reporting guidelines.

September is National Preparedness Month

While disasters can be unexpected, there are many ways to prepare before one strikes. September is National Preparedness Month, and we encourage you to educate yourself about emergency preparation, and take steps now to be ready. Here a few ways to become better prepared this September.

Make a Family Plan
If your family doesn’t already have one, make an emergency preparedness plan. All family members, including children, should have your plan memorized. Ready.gov is a great resource for guidelines, and family communication tips.

Assemble a Kit
In the event of an emergency; you could be without resources for an extended period of time. Having an emergency supply kit is essential. Below we’ve provided a checklist to reference when creating your own kit.

Emergency Supply Kit Checklist

• Water – a three day supply (1 gallon a day per family member)
• Food – non-perishable items that do not need to be heated
• Flashlights
• Batteries
• Battery powered or hand crank radio
• Prescription medications
• Manual can opener
• Hand tools
• Extra blankets and bedding
• List of emergency contact phone numbers

Elderly family members, children and pets may have additional special needs which should be considered when preparing your kit. For example, special medications, games for children or pet food. Consider involving all family members when creating the kit, so everyone is familiar with the supplies. Store your kit in a safe and dry place that is easily accessible.

Preparing for Power Loss
If the power goes out, know how to stay safe. Here are a few tips:

• Report outages and downed wires by calling 1-877-737-2662 or online at pepco.com, or by downloading our mobile app.
• Avoid downed wires and working crews
• Locate your emergency kit
• Unplug lamps, TVs and appliances
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors shut

For more information about emergency preparedness, please visit pepco.com.

Take Control of Your Energy Use with Pepco’s New Introduction to Energy Management Course.

The DC Public Library and Pepco are working together this summer to present the new Introduction to Energy Management class. In this class you’ll:

• Get tips to help you save money and energy
• Design a custom energy management plan for your home
• Learn how to use tools on My Account at pepco.com
• Receive a complimentary, reusable gift bag with tools to help you save

This 60 minute course, developed by The George Washington University and Pepco, is designed to help you understand how you can manage and reduce your energy use to save money.

Introduction to Energy Management will cover several topics that provide you with useful information, tips and tools about Pepco’s energy saving programs and online energy management tools available through My Account. This dashboard features charts and graphs to help you better understand your energy use information.

You’ll walk away with your own energy management plan to help you take better control of your energy use at home. 

Classes are being offered at the following DC Public Library locations:

For more information, visit pepco.com/energizedc or call 1-855-NEW-METER.

Get Free Energy-Saving Trees

Pepco and the Arbor Day Foundation are offering free trees to help you conserve energy. Trees are available on a first-come, first-serve basis from March 20 through June 6, while supplies last. Distribution is limited to two, 2-to-4 foot trees per customer. To get your free trees, visit www.arborday.org/Pepco today.

Properly planted trees help reduce energy use through summer shading and by slowing winter winds. As your trees grow, they will have the potential to lower energy bills by 15 to 30 percent.

To help you plant your tree in the right place, the Arbor Day Foundation offers you an online mapping tool that will:

• Map your house
• Show you the right trees for your area
• Locate the best place to plant them
• Calculate how much you can expect to save

To learn more about this program, please visit www.arborday.org/pepco.

Celebrate the Holidays at Zoolights

Celebrate the holiday season with us at ZooLights at the National Zoo. ZooLights is open from 5 to 9 p.m. every night through January 1 (closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve).

Board the National Zoo Choo-Choo train and see thousands of environmentally friendly lights illuminating trees, walkways, buildings and animated animal silhouettes while sipping on some hot chocolate. Tube down the 150-foot track on the Lion-Tiger Hill or ride the solar powered Conservation Carousel. You can also visit your favorite nocturnal animals – the Small Mammal House, Great Ape House, Reptile Discovery Center, and Think Tank are all open to the public.

For more information, visit the Friends of the National Zoo website.

We Can Help with Winter Energy Bills

Winter is just around the corner. A drop in temperature typically means you’ll be turning up your heat which can lead to higher energy bills. We understand that higher energy bills can be a major concern. If you have difficulty paying your heating bills this winter, we’re here to help.

The first thing to do is call Customer Care at 202-833-7500 before your bill becomes unmanageable. We can recommend payment arrangements where appropriate and can discuss alternative payment plans such as our Budget Billing program that can help you avoid seasonal cost spikes and keep monthly bills level.

Our Extended Payment Date Plan is for customers whose main source of income is from government programs. Since assistance does not arrive until the first of each month, qualified customers whose bill due date is before the 5th of the month may be granted an extension of their due date.

Under the Deferred Payment Arrangement Plan customers experiencing a temporary financial hardship may be eligible to make installment payments on their current bill and a portion of any unpaid balance.

Felecia Greer
Customer Advocate

August 11 is National 811 Day

Are you planning a home improvement job such as planting a tree, installing a fence or building a deck? Before you start any digging project, big or small, you need to call 811.

Providing safety is our top priority. We want to remind our customers to call 811 a few days before they start any digging project. Failure to do so may result in injury, repair costs, fines and outages. An underground utility line is damaged every eight minutes because someone decided to dig without first calling 811, according to Common Ground Alliance data.

By calling 811, we are notified of your intent to dig and can send somebody out to mark the locations of your underground lines. Always call a few days before you start to allow time for the request to be processed.

For more information, visit our Call Before You Dig page.