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Cleveland finalizes community choice electricity aggregation program details for Illuminating Company / FirstEnergy Customer

Friday, Jun 16, 2023

Friday, June 16, 2023 — Cleveland — City of Cleveland has finalized the roll-out of the 2023 Community Choice Electricity Aggregation to our eligible residents and small commercial businesses. The program will be starting in August 2023 thanks to City Council’s timely legislative approvals and work by our program partner SOPEC and will provide both energy savings and green energy supply for Clevelanders. 

Through our group buying power with selected aggregator SOPEC, the city administration was able to secure a very competitive, default ‘opt-out,’ one-year fixed rate of 6.302 cents/kWh for the electricity supply from AEP Energy, backed by 100% Green-e certified Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). This price will save the average residential electricity account approximately $200 over the next year, compared to the Illuminating Company’s default electricity supply rates (12.4 cent/kWh). 

As early as Tuesday, June 20, eligible Cleveland residents can expect to see letters from SOPEC that outline the community choice aggregation program, including “opt-out” pathways.  These details will be available on Sustainable Cleveland’s aggregation program website and through other communication channels, including a call center set up by SOPEC and AEP Energy that can be reached at 1-877-648-1937, starting June 21. 

Residents who already switched to a new electricity supplier for the June and July Summer months will not receive an auto-enroll “opt-out” letter, but an ‘opt-in’ pathway is being created as quickly as possible, after the program’s call center is in place next week.  For residents who may want to consider their own energy supplier, FAQs about this and other utility related programs are listed on Sustainable Cleveland’s aggregation program website.