Community Choice Aggregation
In 8 states, a town, county or group of towns can buy electricity for everyone who lives there and enroll them automatically unless they opt out. We track 1,793 programs and 2,083 member communities from state regulators’ lists. 796 are active today.
Programs by State
Each state has its own name for these programs and its own rules. Counts come from each state’s regulator, and from the programs’ own pages where the regulator doesn’t publish a list.
| State | What it’s called | Active | All programs | Communities | Households in active communities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | Municipal Electric Aggregation | 418 | 752 | 751 | 1,887,778 |
| Ohio | Governmental Aggregation | 300 | 704 | 704 | 1,935,868 |
| Massachusetts | Municipal Aggregation | 37 | 242 | 242 | 334,308 |
| California | Community Choice Aggregation | 25 | 25 | 211 | 4,779,096 |
| Rhode Island | Municipal Aggregation | 8 | 11 | 11 | 133,315 |
| New Hampshire | Community Power | 6 | 6 | 55 | 235,308 |
| New Jersey | Government Energy Aggregation | 1 | 43 | 43 | 3,610 |
| New York | Community Choice Aggregation | 1 | 2 | 51 | 314,347 |
| Pennsylvania | Municipal Aggregation | 0 | 4 | 11 | — |
| Virginia | Municipal Aggregation | 0 | 2 | 2 | — |
| Maine | Community Choice Aggregation | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Maryland | Community Choice Aggregation | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
A program is active when it has a supplier under contract today. Ohio’s count is programs with a current state certification; Massachusetts counts towns whose own sites show a running program.
How Community Choice Works
A local government signs a supply contract on behalf of its residents, usually after a council vote and, in some states, a referendum. Everyone on the utility’s default supply gets a notice and is moved to the program unless they opt out. 1,781 of the 1,793 programs we track enroll residents this way.
- The utility doesn’t change. It still delivers the power, fixes outages and, in most programs, sends the bill. Only the supply line changes.
- The price can be fixed or tied to the utility. Most contracts set a fixed rate for the term; in Illinois, the ICC says programs run “from one year to three years in length.” Others, like 63 programs in ComEd territory, match the utility’s own price each month.
- It isn’t always cheaper. Contracts are signed at one moment and utility prices reset every few months, so a program can be above the utility’s price for much of its term.
- Some programs are about greener power. The ICC notes a community may “choose an electric supply offer that includes a higher percentage of ‘green’ power.”
Where It Isn’t Running Yet
These states have a community choice law or a past program, but nothing is delivering power to homes today.
- Maine. Maine’s community choice law, 35-A M.R.S. §3219, was signed April 13, 2026. A plan needs a vote of the town’s legislative body, a vote of its residents and Public Utilities Commission approval, and the Commission must begin rulemaking by January 1, 2027. No town has adopted a plan yet. Source: Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A §3219
- Pennsylvania. The Public Utility Commission denied eight boroughs’ community choice petition on August 14, 2025, finding the General Assembly had not set statewide rules. The only opt-out program it has ever ordered, in Pike County, ran from 2006 to 2011. Source: Pennsylvania PUC, Opinion and Order, Docket P-2024-3049623
- Maryland. A state pilot (Public Utilities Article §7-510.3) applies only in Montgomery County. The county created its aggregator in October 2025, but no plan had been filed with the Public Service Commission. Source: Maryland Code, Public Utilities §7-510.3
- Virginia. Va. Code §56-589 lets localities aggregate, but only where retail choice exists, and §56-577 limits that to nonresidential customers above 5 megawatts. No residential program operates. Source: Code of Virginia §56-589
Frequently Asked Questions
What is community choice aggregation?
A town, county or group of towns buys electricity supply in bulk for everyone who lives there. Residents are usually enrolled automatically and can opt out. The local utility keeps delivering the power; only the supplier and the supply price change. States call it different things: municipal aggregation in Illinois and Massachusetts, governmental aggregation in Ohio, Community Power in New Hampshire.
Which states have community choice aggregation?
Programs are running in Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York. Maine passed a law in 2026; Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia have laws or past programs but nothing delivering power to homes today.
Is community choice cheaper than the utility?
Not reliably. In Illinois, 259 of 260 fixed-rate programs in Ameren territory cost more than Ameren’s current price to compare, while 77 of 95 in ComEd territory cost less than ComEd’s. Each program page compares its rate with the utility’s.
How many people are in community choice programs?
About 9.6M households live in the 1,053 communities with an active program we track. That counts every occupied home (Census ACS), including those that opted out or buy from their own supplier.
How We Build This
Every program comes from the state’s own list or regulator filings: the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, the California Public Utilities Commission, the New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania commissions, the New York Department of Public Service and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Suppliers and rates come from those lists or from the town’s or program’s own pages. We don’t take rates from suppliers, brokers or news stories; where no official source publishes a rate, we leave it blank.
Each community is matched to its Census place or county subdivision, and household counts are occupied homes from the American Community Survey 5-year estimates (table B25002). The data is refreshed monthly; this version was checked November 2, 2026.
