*Updated 06/06/2023

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The City of Cleveland is making strives towards a more sustainable future. In a recent interview with 3News - we discuss the City's climate justice efforts and how this work will help to build a thriving City. Cleveland is embracing innovative solutions, such as promoting renewable energy, enhancing public transportation, and implementing energy-efficient measures. By prioritizing climate justice, we're ensuring that all Clevelanders have access to clean air, clean water, and sustainable opportunities for a better future.   

Visit: sustainablecleveland.org/pog for information on the plan of operations and governance

We have been successful in selecting a competitively priced program and look forward to working with city council members before summer recess to ensure residents have that program in place by August, as it will help alleviate FirstEnergy’s increase in electricity supply pricing over the next year.

What is Community Choice Aggregation?

Community Choice  Aggregation (CCA) is the opportunity for the City to provide residents an alternative "choice" to the default electricity supplier that the utility company uses. CCA programs are not mandatory, residents can opt-out if they wish. This is an optional service that the City provides to its residents, and this is how it works: 

Electricity utility bills have two parts:

• A usage fee to move electricity through its wires and;
• A supply fee for the actual flow of electricity through its wires.
  
  

In Ohio, everyone has the option to shop for their own supply

• CCA programs allow for the City to combine or “aggregate” the electricity supply for residential and small businesses into one bulk amount. This is then used to carefully select an alternative choice to the default electricity supplier that the utility company uses.
  
  
• The benefit of combining (or aggregating) into a bulk amount is that this method is more likely to provide a better electricity product at a more stable price than residents could achieve on their own.
  
  
  

What about the City of Cleveland’s Community Choice Aggregation program?

The City of Cleveland is currently selecting an electricity supplier for its CCA program through a highly competitive “request for proposals” – which asks each potential supplier to propose an electricity supply and a stable price for a certain amount of time. The city selects the best offer from the proposals.

The city expects to offer residents and small businesses an alternative choice to the default electricity supplier by August 2023.

Residents and small businesses can expect to receive mailers in July about the City of Cleveland’s Community Choice Aggregation program. If residents want to participate, they do not need to do anything and will be automatically enrolled. There will be an option to opt-out if residents do not want to participate.

What do I do if someone knocks on my door and asks for my utility bill? 

As a customer eligible for Cleveland’s community choice electricity purchasing program, you are likely to receive marketing approaches from unregulated energy suppliers before July 2023. This may come in the form of door-to-door, phone, or online solicitations. These solicitors will ask you to see a copy of your utility bill and encourage you to sign up with a new company. We strongly advise you not to sign up with one of those suppliers, as you will not be automatically enrolled in the City’s community purchasing program. 

If you do receive a solicitation and have questions, please contact the PUCO Call Center at (800) 686-PUCO (7826) or visit: https://puco.ohio.gov/help-center/contact-us.

Utility Assistance Resource Fairs coming soon to Cleveland soon! Residents will receive on-site financial assistance for water, sewers, stormwater, gas, and electric bills.

I am a Cleveland Public Power (CPP) customer, do I need to do anything?
No, CPP customers are NOT affected by this change and no action is required.

I am a FirstEnergy/Illuminating Company customer, how do I enroll?
No action is required, all eligible customers will be automatically enrolled in the new program.

How do I know if I am eligible to participate in the new program?
All customers are automatically eligible, however, there are two exceptions: 

• Customers enrolled in PIPP are not affected by rate increases, as their bills are based on household income and consistent year-round.
• Customers that are currently contracted with an independent energy supplier will not be automatically enrolled to participate.

Can I still participate if I am already contracted with another energy supplier? 

You may be able to withdraw from your current supplier with an early or no termination fee, but please check with your supplier directly. Once your contract ends and if you match the program's eligibility criteria you will be automatically enrolled in the City's new program. This website will have additional information in July about possible "opt-in" options through the City's community choice aggregation program. 

What do I do if I receive solicitations (door knocks, phone calls, etc...) from independent energy suppliers?

We advise you to NOT sign anything, write down the representative's name, company information, and immediately contact PUCO at (800) 686-7876. These companies are not apart of the City's community choice aggregation program and could lock you into an unreasonable contract.

If the PUCO does confirm an electricity supplier is certified, and you do not want to wait to be automatically enrolled in the City of Cleveland aggregation program, we strongly recommend that you ask a number of questions of any electricity supplier you talk to:

• Are you offering a fixed rate electricity supply contract to me?
• What is that fixed rate price?
• How long will that fixed rate last? 1 month? 6 months? A year?  What happens to my price after that?
• If I agree to a contract with you, can I end that contract without any an early termination fee or other fees in order to join my city’s community choice aggregation program in July? 

I don't want to wait, what do I do? 

If residents prefer not to wait to automatically enrolled into the city's program, they can visit the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Apples to Apples electricity comparison webpage or call 800-686-7826 for more information on finding their own supplier. Below is a list of potential options from the PUCO website. The City of Cleveland is providing this list for information only and is not endorsing any of these suppliers:

Other questions to ask are listed on the PUCO website - https://puco.ohio.gov/utilities/electricity/resources/choosing-an-electric-supplier

Again, you may come back to this website in July to find out more information about the City's new program and find out if you are eligible to rejoin. If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to call 3-1-1 or email [email protected]