As Doris Bishop patiently awaits the gas-to-electric retrofitting of her home, she continues to advocate for resources that boost her quality of life and that of her neighbors in the River Terrace community of Northeast.
A decade ago, Bishop, a political scientist, counted among those who raised concerns about a nearby Pepco plant and Shell hydrogen gas station on Benning Road in Northeast. “Pepco is giving us high cancer rates and had Shell hydrogen had done what they wanted, they could’ve killed everyone within a 10-mile radius,” Bishop told The Informer.
Bishop said the community’s lack of agency in these matters highlight other signs of inequity, including: the absence of grocery stores and recreation centers, and a dangerous traffic infrastructure. That’s why she heralded the Healthy Homes pilot program as a step in the right direction.
The Healthy Homes pilot program, funded by a $2 million allocation from the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund (SETF), allows residents of River Terrace and Deanwood, also located in Northeast, to apply for the gas-to-electric retrofitting of their homes.
The SETF also funds the D.C. Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU) a program geared toward helping District residents and businesses reduce energy costs, expanding renewable energy use in low-income communities, and curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
Since Fiscal Year 2022, DCSEU has helped families transition to efficient electric systems in their homes at no cost through the Affordable Home Electrification Program. Throughout the 2024 fiscal year, more than 350 District residents have inquired about participation in the program.
Bishop recounted learning about the Healthy Homes pilot from the Washington Interfaith Network, a multi-race, multi-denominational, non-partisan grassroots organization that’s been promoting the program. She said it didn’t take much to embrace the cause, as it would give low- and moderate-income residents an opportunity to curb greenhouse emissions from their homes and improve the community.
“It’s essential that we stay safe with all the global warming and climate crisis,” Bishop said. “If we can reduce our footprint to do something productive, that lessens our likelihood of toxins being emitted.”
A Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Quandary
With the unanimous first reading approval of the Healthy Homes and Residential Electrification Amendment Act on April 2, the D.C. Council inched closer to helping 30,000 low- and moderate-income D.C. residents take similar steps to convert their home appliances from gas to electric power by 2040.
However, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal jeopardizes the implementation of the legislation by diverting money from the SETF to the payment of the District’s electric bills. Bowser administration members speaking to The Informer on background said that the change wouldn’t compromise the DIstrict’s climate goals.
D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), chairman of the D.C. Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment and champion of the Healthy Homes and Residential Electrification Amendment Act, had different thoughts. He didn’t mince words in his criticism of Bowser’s decision to defund the legislation.
“I’m deeply concerned that this proposal slashes our budget for climate priorities,” Allen said on April 3 moments before Bowser presented her budget proposal to the council’s Committee of the Whole. “[This] redirects money for programs that would otherwise go for low-income homeowners to pay the District government’s electric bill. Putting those costs on rate payers, on our bills instead of linking them to health and safety improvements…is deeply concerning.”
A Spirit of Activism and the Bigger Picture
In the weeks and days leading up to the May 7 second reading of the Healthy Homes and Residential Electrification Amendment Act, D.C. residents — including those who are participating in the Healthy Homes pilot program — continue to rally in support of what they consider an important investment.
River Terrace is a cul-de-sac near Benning Road in Northeast that consists mostly of elderly homeowners who’ve lived and raised families in the community for decades. Over the last decade, the community has experienced several changes, the most recent of which involves 34Fifty Apartments, a soon-to-come building with affordable housing units.
The long, arduous road to the 34Fifty groundbreaking last year highlighted a spirit of civic engagement inculcated within River Terrace residents who fought to maintain the suburban-like character of their community.
For at least 30 years, residents have engaged in a similar fight against Pepco for its dumping of harmful chemicals into the District waterways. More recently, River Terrace residents, in conjunction with WIN have been knocking on doors and conducting walks in search of gas leaks.
Rosa Lee, a parishioner at Varick African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, a WIN member church located in River Terrace, counted among those who participated in those walks. She told The Informer that the experience raised her consciousness about the dangers that gas stove usage posed for her and her family.
“Gas was what I knew and that was it,” said Lee, a River Terrace resident of nearly 40 years who’s currently awaiting the retrofitting of her home. “I just didn’t know the effect it could have on children. I had a child with respiratory issues but I didn’t link that with gas. There are negative impacts.”
In his work with WIN, the Rev. Lewis T. Tait, Jr. often speaks about the benefits of living in a home with electric-powered appliances. He said experiencing such a living arrangement emboldened him to support the Healthy Homes and Residential Electrification Amendment Act.
In 2015, Tait, pastor of The Village Church in Northeast, purchased a new all-electric house in Ward 5. A few years later, he had solar panels installed.
Those solar panels, Tait said, powered his heating system, stove, and other appliances. He recounted experiencing cost savings months after moving into his abode.
As Tait recounted to The Informer, he also came to appreciate the environmental benefits.
That’s why, as the D.C. Council spends the next few weeks scrutinizing Bowser’s budget, Tait continues to advocate for the allocation of SETF funds toward the Healthy Homes and Residential Electrification Amendment Act
“In a tough budget year, the easiest thing to do is cut a program like this,” Tait said. “Councilmember Allen has been instrumental in re-introducing the bill and being supportive of other people who’ve been trying to get behind it,” he continued. “There’s been environmental racism in Black and brown communities so this is a step in the right direction.”