RFK as a neighborhood-scale flexible energy system that lowers energy costs for all DC residents

On August 14, 2026, Electrify DC submitted comments on the RFK Campus Master Plan draft for public comment.

The RFK campus is a chance for DC to build a model stadium and neighborhood that will be the premier, sustainable, and economic example befitting our nation’s capital.  In the face of DC’s energy affordability crisis, the RFK site must be designed in a strategic manner to ensure that residents who live near the site 365 days a year are not burdened with an increase in energy demand from buildings, EVs, and the RFK campus itself but instead is a resource reducing costs for all DC residents. 

The Master Plan appropriately recognizes housing-cost burden, displacement risk, and the significant new electricity demand in surrounding communities, but rising energy costs are claiming an increasing share of household expenses, compounding existing affordability pressures and disproportionately burdening residents least able to absorb them. DC has seen the highest increase in electricity prices in the country from both utility distribution charges and primarily from energy supply charges  – so much so that the PSC held a hearing on June 3rd to address the issue of rising generation costs. As Electrify DC stated at that hearing, minimizing capital investment alone does not address the largest source of electricity-cost exposure facing DC residents. Energy affordability should therefore be a primary objective of the RFK Campus energy strategy. RFK should be designed to reduce both:

• Distribution-system costs (33% of resident bills). Existing assets should be utilized optimally and new investments should be intentional where infrastructure provides multiple benefits. For example traditional resources like transformers provide a single grid service – increasing capacity for load. Investments into non-wires alternatives like batteries provide not only capacity for load but also targeted peak load reduction, energy price arbitrage, and ramped power to provide grid stability.  
• Electricity supply costs (~66% of resident bills) through building efficiency, onsite generation and storage, flexible loads, and active engagement in electricity markets. 

Read Electrify DC’s full comments here.