An Act to Authorize Municipalities to Form Community Choice Aggregation Programs to Procure Electricity

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STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX
_____
H.P. 1427 - L.D. 2112
An Act to Authorize Municipalities to Form Community Choice Aggregation
Programs to Procure Electricity
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3202, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 316, §3, is amended
to read:
3. Aggregation permitted; limitation. When retail access begins, consumers of
electricity may aggregate their purchases of generation service in any manner they choose.
If a public entity serves as an aggregator, it may not require consumers of electricity within
its jurisdiction to purchase generation service from that entity except as provided in section
3219.
Sec. 2. 35-A MRSA §3219 is enacted to read:
§3219. Community choice aggregation program
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Community choice aggregation program" means a program through which a
municipality or group of municipalities located in the service territory of an investor-
owned transmission and distribution utility aggregates the electric load of residential
customers and small commercial electricity customers within the jurisdiction of the
municipality or group of municipalities to procure electricity on their behalf.
B. "Competitive electricity provider service agreement" means a form agreement that
is developed by the commission by rule in accordance with subsection 10, paragraph
G and that is signed by an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility and a
program supplier.
C. "Default service" means the standard-offer service provided in accordance with
section 3212.
D. "Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians" has the same meaning as in Title 30, section
6203, subsection 2.
E. "Mi'kmaq Nation" has the same meaning as in Title 30, section 7203, subsection 4.
APPROVED
APRIL 13, 2026
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
665
PUBLIC LAW
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F. "Passamaquoddy Tribe" has the same meaning as in Title 30, section 6203,
subsection 7.
G. "Penobscot Nation" has the same meaning as in Title 30, section 6203, subsection
10.
H. "Program consultant" means a person acting as a broker or aggregator and licensed
as a competitive electricity provider in accordance with section 3203 that is engaged
by a municipality or group of municipalities to assist with the development and
operation of a community choice aggregation program.
I. "Program supplier" means a competitive electricity provider licensed in accordance
with section 3203 that has executed a competitive electricity provider service
agreement and is providing electricity to customers under a community choice
aggregation program.
2. Community choice aggregation program; plan approval. A municipality or
group of municipalities may implement a community choice aggregation program in
accordance with the requirements of this section.
A. A municipality or group of municipalities may adopt a community choice
aggregation program plan if the adoption is approved by a majority vote of each
municipality's legislative body or governing board and the adoption of the plan is
approved by a majority of voters in each municipality adopting the plan.
B. If a municipality or group of municipalities has adopted a plan in accordance with
paragraph A, the municipality or group of municipalities may submit the plan to the
commission for approval.
C. The commission shall review and approve or reject a plan submitted for approval
in accordance with paragraph B. Pursuant to subsection 10, the commission shall adopt
rules to establish requirements for community choice aggregation program plans,
including, but not limited to, requirements for a municipality or a group of
municipalities to conduct targeted outreach in the municipality's or group of
municipalities' jurisdiction to ensure that customers are aware of their rights, benefits
of the community choice aggregation program and opt-out options.
D. If the commission rejects a community choice aggregation program plan, the
municipality or group of municipalities may amend the plan to address deficiencies
identified by the commission and resubmit the plan to the commission without
complying with the requirements of paragraph A as long as the amendments to the plan
are not material in nature as determined by the commission.
E. If the commission approves a community choice aggregation program plan, the
municipality or group of municipalities shall comply with the notification requirements
in subsections 3 and 4 before implementing the community choice aggregation
program.
A municipality or group of municipalities may not implement a community choice
aggregation program unless the plan has been approved by the commission.
3. Community choice aggregation program; regulatory notice. After receiving
community choice aggregation program plan approval from the commission in accordance
with subsection 2 and prior to implementing the community choice aggregation program,
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a municipality shall provide written notice to the commission, the Public Advocate, the
Department of Energy Resources and an investor-owned transmission and distribution
utility serving customers within the community choice aggregation program service area
in accordance with rules adopted by the commission pursuant to subsection 10, paragraph
H.
4. Customer notice. A municipality or group of municipalities that receives
commission approval for a community choice aggregation program plan under subsection
2 shall send all default service customers, other than customers described in subsection 5,
paragraph B, subparagraphs (1), (2) and (4), within the municipality's or group of
municipalities' jurisdiction at least one written notice via first-class mail and publish one
notice in a newspaper of general circulation informing the customers of the following:
A. The community choice aggregation program details;
B. The right to opt out of the community choice aggregation program without penalty;
and
C. The process and deadlines for opting out of the community choice aggregation
program.
The notice required by this subsection must be provided to each default service customer
prior to the time the customer is initially enrolled in the community choice aggregation
program and must be sent in accordance with time frames established by the commission
by rule pursuant to subsection 10, paragraph D.
5. Community choice aggregation program; implementation. Except as provided
in paragraph B, subparagraphs (1), (2) and (4), after receiving community choice
aggregation program plan approval from the commission and complying with the
regulatory notice requirements in subsection 3 and the customer notice requirements in
subsection 4, all default service customers within the municipality's or group of
municipalities' jurisdiction may be automatically enrolled in the community choice
aggregation program unless they affirmatively opt out.
A. A municipality or group of municipalities may elect not to provide service to a
customer under a community choice aggregation program based on the customer's
utility payment history.
B. A customer may not be automatically enrolled in a community choice aggregation
program and must affirmatively opt in in order to participate in the community choice
aggregation program if the customer:
(1) Is participating in net energy billing pursuant to section 3209-A or 3209-B;
(2) Is participating in a front of the meter distributed energy resource program
pursuant to section 3209-I;
(3) Is receiving generation service from a competitive electricity provider; or
(4) Is receiving financial assistance for low-income households in accordance with
section 3214, subsection 2 or participating in an arrearage management program
pursuant to section 3214, subsection 2-A.
C. A customer receiving financial assistance for low-income households in accordance
with section 3214, subsection 2 or participating in an arrearage management program
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pursuant to section 3214, subsection 2-A may not receive electricity supply under a
community choice aggregation program if the customer would pay a supply rate under
the community choice aggregation program that is at any time higher than the default
service supply rate.
D. A customer may be unenrolled from a community choice aggregation program and
returned to default service for nonpayment of electricity services provided under the
community choice aggregation program.
E. The approval of a plan by the commission as described in subsection 2 constitutes
a default service customer's authorization for the program consultant or program
supplier to provide service as required by section 3203, subsection 4-A, paragraph A.
F. If a customer not automatically enrolled opts in to a community choice aggregation
program, the customer is responsible for sharing the customer's electricity account
information with the program consultant or program supplier.
G. If a customer has a contract to receive generation service from a competitive
electricity provider and opts in to a community choice aggregation program, the
customer is responsible for notifying the competitive electricity provider that the
customer is terminating the contract to opt in to the community choice aggregation
program.
H. A program consultant or program supplier, with the approval of the municipality
or group of municipalities that has implemented the community choice aggregation
program, may communicate with customers receiving service under the community
choice aggregation program regarding the community choice aggregation program and
any energy-related products or services that may be available to those customers.
6. Protections for low-income and electric assistance program customers. The
following protections apply to low-income customers and electric assistance program
customers enrolled in a community choice aggregation program.
A. Enrollment in a community choice aggregation program does not affect a
customer's eligibility for or receipt of benefits under an electric assistance program or
any other low-income assistance program administered by the State.
B. All discounts, credits and protections afforded to low-income customers under an
arrearage management program pursuant to section 3214, subsection 2-A continue to
apply without interruption or modification.
C. An investor-owned transmission and distribution utility or a municipality may not
charge a customer enrolled in an electric assistance program or any other low-income
assistance program administered by the State any additional fees, charges or penalties
as a result of participation in a community choice aggregation program.
7. Billing and collection; data sharing. If a municipality or group of municipalities
implements a community choice aggregation program plan approved by the commission
under subsection 2, the investor-owned transmission and distribution utility serving
customers enrolled in the community choice aggregation program shall:
A. Provide the program consultant or program supplier with the same options for
billing as those available to competitive electricity providers providing generation
service to retail customers pursuant to section 3203;
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B. Remit payments in the same manner as required for competitive electricity
providers providing generation service in accordance with rules adopted by the
commission pursuant to section 3203; and
C. Within a time frame established by the commission by rule, after a request by a
program consultant or program supplier, provide to the program consultant, the
program supplier or an authorized agent of the program consultant or program supplier,
in standardized machine-readable format, all customer-specific data reasonably
necessary to price, notify customers of and implement a community choice aggregation
program. The commission shall establish by rule the customer-specific data that must
be provided by an investor-owned utility, which must include, but is not limited to:
(1) Customer name and account number;
(2) Service address and mailing address;
(3) Customer class and applicable rate schedule;
(4) Twelve months of historical electricity usage data at the level of detail available
to the transmission and distribution utility obtained using the utility's available
automated electronic data or produced directly by the utility with the cost of
production to be paid by the requester;
(5) Capacity tag data or other peak demand obligation data used for resource
adequacy or capacity procurement;
(6) Twelve months of aggregated payment history for electricity customers in the
municipality or group of municipalities;
(7) Whether an electricity customer is receiving default service or supply from a
competitive electricity provider;
(8) Whether an electricity customer participates in net energy billing pursuant to
section 3209-A or 3209-B or a front of the meter distributed energy resource
program pursuant to section 3209-I or otherwise exports energy to the electric grid;
and
(9) Any additional customer or account information required by the commission
by rule to support aggregation pricing, customer notification, enrollment or
community choice aggregation program implementation.
Transmission and distribution services remain with the investor-owned transmission and
distribution utilities, which must be paid for according to rate schedules approved by the
applicable regulatory authority.
8. Confidentiality. Program consultants and program suppliers are subject to the
confidentiality requirement established in section 3203, subsection 4-A, paragraph B.
9. Tribal community choice aggregation programs. The Houlton Band of Maliseet
Indians, the Mi'kmaq Nation, the Penobscot Nation or the Passamaquoddy Tribe may
establish a community choice aggregation program in accordance with this section. The
rights applicable to municipalities as provided in this section apply to any community
choice aggregation programs that may be established by the Houlton Band of Maliseet
Indians, the Mi'kmaq Nation, the Penobscot Nation or the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
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10. Rulemaking. The commission shall initiate rulemaking for the implementation
of this section no later than January 1, 2027. The rules must include, but are not limited to,
rules establishing:
A. The process by which a municipality or group of municipalities may:
(1) Establish a community choice aggregation program under subsection 2,
paragraph A; and
(2) Seek approval from the commission under subsection 2, paragraph B;
B. Standards for commission approval of a community choice aggregation program
plan under subsection 2, paragraph C;
C. Opt-in procedures for customers identified in subsection 5, paragraph B and opt-
out procedures for default service customers;
D. Timing and notice requirements related to the automatic enrollment of default
service customers in a community choice aggregation program;
E. Consumer protection and transparency requirements;
F. Requirements for data sharing by a transmission and distribution utility in
accordance with subsection 7, paragraph C, to ensure that data is provided in a timely
fashion and updated as necessary to support the ongoing administration of a community
choice aggregation program;
G. A standard competitive electricity provider service agreement to be used by a
program supplier and an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility to provide
for the ongoing sharing of data as described in subsection 7, paragraph C;
H. The timing for providing regulatory notice as required by subsection 3;
I. A process, which may include the establishment of a fee to be paid by a program
consultant, a program supplier or a municipality or group of municipalities
implementing a community choice aggregation program, to ensure that an investor-
owned transmission and distribution utility will not incur any costs to implement the
requirements of this section; and
J. Provisions to minimize to the greatest extent practicable impacts to default service.
Notwithstanding Title 5, section 8071, rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.