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Plain City hears NOPEC pitch for opt-out energy aggregation, council asked to set public hearing dates
Summary
Representatives from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council outlined an opt-out electric and gas aggregation program that would keep utility billing to residents but offer supplier-negotiated supply pricing, member grants and small-business loans; council was asked to schedule public hearings and could aim for a July start date.
Ross McDonald, representing the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC), presented to the Plain City Council a proposal for a community energy aggregation program for both electric and gas supply.
McDonald said NOPEC has run aggregation programs for governments for 25 years and currently serves communities with nearly 1,000,000 customers across about 250 Ohio communities. He described NOPEC’s standard program as an opt-out aggregation that would leave utility service and billing unchanged but replace the supply portion of the bill with a NOPEC-negotiated supplier. McDonald said NOPEC uses a competitive RFP to select a single supplier for member communities and noted the currently identified successful bidder for NOPEC contracts is NextEra Energy.
McDonald outlined resident protections: the program would maintain an opt‑out structure, allow residents to switch products (12‑ or 24‑month fixed options or a monthly variable product) at no penalty, and would not supersede existing private market contracts. He said NOPEC provides member benefits paid by the supplier, including automatic Energize Community grants for energy-efficiency projects and small-business grant or loan products, and highlighted underwriting and administrative support NOPEC would provide free to the village.
On pricing, McDonald showed historical and forecast comparisons between NOPEC’s standard products and utilities’ “price to compare” figures for both Ohio Edison/FirstEnergy territory and AEP territory. He said NOPEC’s standard gas program was priced at about 71.9¢ per CCF at the time of the presentation and argued the standard program is designed to reduce volatility for residents compared with the utility’s standard choice offer.
McDonald described the procedural timeline NOPEC recommends: a typical onboarding includes receipt of an eligibility file, four required public hearings (two per program), an opt‑out notice period (21 days), and council actions to set hearing dates and authorize the process. He said NOPEC was targeting a July 1 program start date if the council and public hearings proceeded on that timeline.
Council members asked questions about opt‑out mechanics, how new construction would be enrolled, billing visibility, and contract lengths; McDonald answered that residents could opt in and out at any time, sweeps would capture new accounts, and billing and metering would remain with the incumbent utility. Village staff and council agreed to establish public hearing dates and to continue vetting the program details at the March 9 meeting.
The council did not take a final vote on aggregation at this meeting; staff and NOPEC will coordinate next steps and public hearing scheduling.
