WASHINGTON (7News) — Families across the D.C. region are seeing higher utility bills this winter, as gas and electric rate hikes approved by regulators take effect — sparking criticism from local leaders and concern from residents already feeling the squeeze.

In D.C., Washington Gas customers are now paying about 13% more on their bills. The increase has triggered renewed debate at the D.C. Council, where critics argue the utility’s strategy of full pipeline replacements — rather than targeted repairs — is driving costs higher than necessary.

Council members and consumer advocates said those costs are being passed along to residents least able to absorb them, particularly low-income households already struggling with rising prices for food, rent, and other essentials.

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Across the Potomac River in Prince William County, Virginia, electric customers are also facing higher bills.

State regulators approved phased rate increases for Dominion Energy in late 2025 — less than what the company initially requested — citing inflation and the rising cost of maintaining and upgrading the electric grid. The changes are expected to add roughly $11 more per month this year, with an additional increase planned for 2027.

Dominion Energy spokesperson Aisha Khan said the utility is facing mounting demand and higher infrastructure costs, including utility poles, wires, and transformers — but emphasized that large power users will now shoulder more of the burden.

“Now the commission also approved new customer rates to reflect inflationary pressures and increasing costs of grid equipment,” Khan said. “But I want to make it clear that data centers are not driving up residential bills. Independent state studies have confirmed that these data centers pay the full cost of their power.”

Under the new structure, regulators created a separate rate class requiring large users — including data centers — to pay higher rates than typical households.

Still, some residents say the increases are already taking a toll.

Janice Howard, a single mother from Woodbridge, says her most recent electric bill jumped nearly $150, despite no change in her family’s daily routine.

“It is $317,” Howard said. “I’m a single mom who works 50 hours a week with a five-year-old. We’re barely home. I don’t understand why my bill jumped up almost $150 when we’re doing absolutely the same thing.”

Dominion Energy maintains the increases are necessary to keep up with demand and maintain reliability, but says customers are not paying the full cost alone — pointing to the higher rates now required of large commercial users.

Local leaders said the debate is far from over, and questions remain about whether future relief could be on the way for households facing rising utility costs.

If you need help paying your bills:

• D.C. residents can find utility bill assistance programs, discounts, and resources through the District’s Department of Energy & Environment, including income-based help with energy costs and utility discounts. Washington Gas — Energy assistance information can be found here
• Dominion Energy customers in Virginia can find billing support, payment arrangements, and energy assistance resources (including EnergyShare) at Dominion Energy Billing & Assistance Programs and EnergyShare Assistance Program Info here.

Iowa State’s Addy Brown and Arianna Jackson will miss Sunday’s women’s basketball game against West Virginia at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, according to the Big 12-mandated pregame availability report released 90 minutes before tip-off.

Jackson is expected to miss a significant portion of the season with a leg injury. Brown has a lower body injury and was listed as questionable on the Saturday night availability report.

Brown is averaging 13.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game for Iowa State. The Kansas native is also shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor and 42.2 percent from 3-point range.

Iowa State vs. West Virginia is scheduled for 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

Iowa State players listed as out

• #2 Arianna Jackson
• #24 Addy Brown

Iowa State players listed as questionable

West Virginia players listed as out

West Virginia players listed as probable

Virginia Tech men’s basketball head coach Mike Young spoke to the media after the Hokies’ 78-75 victory over California. Here’s the entirety of what Young had to say Saturday.

Opening statement:

“Night in, night out. That’s just the way it’s going to be. I was texting with coach [Jim] Boeheim, who I admire tremendously. Eric Devendorf, one of his former many great players, was on the call today for the ACC Network and I was texting back and forth with Coach about a couple of things. And he said [that] it’s such a balanced league and such a good league. Again, there are a lot of opportunities to compile good wins. Got to take care of home. You got to go on the road. You got to find ways to win and we’ve got a haul on the road. But a quality win for the Hokes and to Dallas we go on Tuesday to compete against the [SMU] Mustangs on Wednesday.”

On the final play, where Justin Pippen got a good shot:

“I think the rules are so new now, okay? And they’re going to rip that thing up the floor. The continuation rule has really disrupted a lot of people’s thinking. He turns and you are a split-second late and he throws that thing at the rim and that’s called. The official’s going to come to me every time in that situation. Are you going to foul? And I have done it more often than not. I have fouled just to negate that three from going in. The only way you lose is that thing to go in the basket and you also foul. All right. Heaven forbid. I’ve never had that one happen. But the continuation, you get turned and Dai Dai Ames is really smart, been around a long time. Pippen’s been around a long time. That kid catches that ball maybe with his back to his basket and turns real quick and shoves it, knowing that you’re going to hit him. That’s a disaster. Uh he got a pretty good shot. I thought it was pretty well contested. I’ll see it several times tonight on film. Caught a break.”

On Tech’s 23-10 advantage on points from turnovers:

“Well, we flipped that on the glass in the first half. We got our ass handed to us on the glass and that is that’s hard to stomach. They don’t have a very big front line other than [Lee] Dort and we thought that that was a real advantage for our team and I think it was 19-8 or something like that in the first half [Editor’s note: It was.]. Second half, we did a much better job. But the turnover part, they had seven more shots in the first half. That’s a big deal. They have seven more shots on goal than your team has. It’s going to come back to your rebounds. It’s going to come back to your turnovers. We’d handled the ball. So, obviously, we didn’t rebound it well enough. I hope I answered your question.”

On Cal’s 14-0 run, which was subsequently countered by an 11-point run from Virginia Tech:

“We were in good shape and I remember it going up 11. We had a media timeout in there. I thought we were fine. “Certainly, no time to panic. But right back, we come offensively. Had a really nice flurry, and I think, tied it up pretty quickly. I guess it was tied at the half. We’re 17 games in. Now, this thing comes at you fast. We’ve seen a lot of situations. Next best action. What’s next? Not too high when you have a 10-0 run, not too low, when you have a 10-0 run the other way. Just the next play, just move on to the next play. And this team has been pretty good with that.”

On what lessons Young learned from the Stanford game, a one-point loss for Virginia Tech:

“You better have a short memory in college athletics. You better have a short memory in any athletic endeavor. It was a kick in the pants. Now you can pout, all right, and feel sorry for yourself or you can suck it up and come back the next day in practice and prepare for Cal. That game today was every bit as important as the Wednesday game. That one [against Stanford] hurt. There’s no getting around that. But you’ve got a choice to make and we got high character people in that locker room. And right back they come. Cal was desperate. We were desperate and feel great about winning.”

[Editor’s note: Viriginia Tech On SI staff writer Josh Poslusny started off his question with: “You talked a little bit about rebounding-” after which Young said, “Josh, I can’t see your eyes.” Poslusny then took off his hat.]

Q: There was a stretch you guys were out rebounded 18 to three and y’all shot five for 23 for three. I mean, what do you have to do to overcome that adversity?

“We’ve got a good rebounding team, Zach. Right. Zach? [Editor’s note: Poslusny corrected him by saying “Josh.”]. I was close. We have a good rebounding team, Josh. We have a good rebounding team. [Amani] Hansberry is awesome. Tobi [Lawal] being back in the lineup obviously really helps us. Our guards have to rebound better. Where we’re getting in trouble, and I’m going to get way into it, Duffy Bear has no idea what I’m talking about. But when there’s dribble penetration and a post player has to step over, that takes him out of where he’s supposed to be on the glass. The shot gets up on the rim. You’ve got to have a guard cracking down on his matchup who’s a post player, who’s a big person, Dort or 17 [Mantas Kocanas] or eight [Milos Ilic]. And we did a poor job with that. Much, much better in the second half. Guarded the ball better in the second half.”

On Virginia Tech’s play down the stretch after taking the lead for good with slightly less than four minutes remaining:

“Well, again, 17 games in and I think back to the Providence game, that game had some moments where it didn’t look real good for the Hokes. South Carolina, on the road. Virginia, here in triple overtime. You click them off. Those experiences are invaluable for moments like that and I thought they had a good look about them and I thought the response was quite encouraging.”

Q: Going back to that overtime Elon game… you’ve had five straight close games, and you’ve won three of them. Is that a learned skill to win those close games?

“You’ve got to be able to play in pressure moments, all right? And that’s why that non-conference schedule [matters]. Those moments, who’s going to respond, who may not respond? You got to step up and make foul shots. [Jailen] Bedford missed one. [Jaden Schutt] missed one that we walk out of here comfortably if we get those down. But we shot our fouls great today. Again, I said it earlier, we’re going to have a lot of these [tight games] and I wish it weren’t so. But it’s a really good league. Good, good teams, and we’re going to have to respond time in and time out. So, we look forward to it.”

On how pleased Young was with his team’s physicality:

“We haven’t gotten to the line as much as I’d like for us to, but we’ve got a physical team. David Jackson does a remarkable job with them. They’re men. They’re men and one of our toughest kids, Tyler Johnson, obviously is out of the lineup for the time being. We’ll have him back soon. But very, very encouraged. I really am.”

On the team’s defense down the stretch:

“We did [step up]. [We went] 5-for-23. We are second or third in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage defense, And you got all the damn numbers, so if I’m wrong, correct me. It’s our rebounding, David. It’s our rebounding. We’re getting the stop. But that second one typically finds the bottom of the barrel. You’ve got to rebound the ball. You got to rebound that first carom. much, much better in the second half. But that’ll of critical importance on Wednesday in Dallas against the Mustangs.”

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