Cincinnati City Council approved an emergency ordinance to schedule two public hearings on a plan of operation and governance for a retail electric aggregation program that would allow commercial customers to participate alongside existing residential aggregation.

Councilmember Owens noted the program builds on the success of the city's residential aggregation and that the Office of Environment and Sustainability has engaged commercial stakeholders and worked on energy benchmarking and building-performance standards. "This is a step forward for all of us," Owens said in support.

The ordinance authorizes the city to act jointly with other municipalities, townships and political subdivisions to pursue aggregation purchasing and was approved unanimously on roll call.

Ending: The council set the procedural step of holding public hearings; further details, including enrollment and expected rate impacts, will be developed during the hearings and subsequent administrative work.