Low-Income Discount Programs & Seniors and Disabled Residents Credit

Economy II, also known as Lifeline, is the government discount program offered by Verizon in the District. This program offers discounted wire-line local telephone service to qualified D.C. customers under 65 years of age for $3.00 a month. Seniors 65 years of age or older pay $1.00 per month. D.C. residents participating in Lifeline have unlimited calling in the Washington metropolitan area. Lifeline service is a non-transferable benefit and only one Lifeline service discount. Only eligible consumers may enroll in the Lifeline program and consumers who willfully make false statements in order to obtain the benefit can be punished by fine or imprisonment or can be barred from the program.

RESIDENTIAL AID DISCOUNT (RAD) is the discount program offered by Pepco. The program offers eligible Pepco, D.C. residential customers a monthly credit – the Residential Aid Credit (RAC). The RAC replaces the previous discount that was applied to RAD customers' generation and transmission charges on their account. The RAC covers the following charges: the full customer charge and energy charge for distribution; and exemption from the following surcharges: the Residential Aid Discount Surcharge, the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund, and the Energy Assistance Trust Fund. Credits for these charges are individually listed on the customers' bills as “RAC – Distribution” and “RAC Surcharges.” Customers will receive the RAC whether or not they have a retail supplier. The full RAC is equal to approximately 30% of a typical RAD customer's bill.

RESIDENTIAL ESSENTIAL SERVICE (RES) is the discount program offered by Washington Gas. This program offers a discount on the distribution portion of the customer’s bill through the winter months from November through April. The recently-simplified RES eliminates the previous three different income tiers whereby RES customers were classified, and eliminates the cap on the discount. The new discount is achieved through a percentage reduction of the distribution portion of a customer’s bill, resulting in an approximately 25% reduction in the total bill. The RES additionally provides for an automatic short-term increase in the reduction to the distribution portion of the bill when purchased gas prices rise above a specified historic percentage. RES customer’s bills will also indicate the costs of surcharges that RES customers are exempt from paying. Specifically: The RES surcharge; The Sustainable Energy Trust Fund surcharge, and The Energy Assistance Trust Fund surcharge. Customers can enroll in the RES program year-round; the enrollment year begins on October 1.