What Is Community Choice Aggregation, and How Does It Affect a Business?
Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) lets a city or county pool the electricity load of residents and businesses in its area and negotiate a supply rate and energy mix on their behalf, rather than leaving everyone on the incumbent utility's default supply. Businesses in a CCA territory are typically enrolled automatically but can opt out to a competitive supplier or back to standard utility service. The utility still owns the wires and handles delivery either way — CCA only changes who supplies the electricity itself.
How CCA actually works
Under a Community Choice Aggregation program, a local government — a city, county, or a group of them — becomes the default electricity supplier for everyone in its jurisdiction, using its collective buying power to negotiate rates or a generation mix (often including more renewable content) with wholesale suppliers. The incumbent utility doesn't go anywhere: it continues to own and maintain the poles and wires, handle outages and emergency response, and bill for delivery charges. CCA changes one thing specifically — who supplies the generation portion of your electricity and how that price is set.
Automatic enrollment, with an opt-out
Most CCA programs use automatic (or "opt-out") enrollment: once a local government adopts a CCA, businesses and residents within its territory are moved onto the CCA's supply by default, typically after advance notice. Anyone who prefers a different arrangement — a competitive supplier, or simply the utility's own standard default service — can usually opt out at any time, though the specific process and any switching fee depend on the individual program.
Where CCA programs currently exist
CCA is authorized state by state through enabling legislation, but adopted locally, so availability depends on your specific city or county even within a state that allows it. As of 2026, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, and Rhode Island have active CCA programs, and several additional states have passed enabling legislation with programs in earlier stages of rollout. Because this changes over time and varies so much by location, the only reliable way to know if your business is in an active CCA territory is to check your own bill or your local government's website rather than assume based on your state alone.
Is a CCA rate greener — and is it cheaper?
Many CCAs market a partly or fully renewable energy mix as a selling point, often exceeding what the state's own Renewable Portfolio Standard requires, but the actual renewable content and how it's sourced varies significantly by program — some offer tiered options where a "green" tier costs somewhat more than the standard CCA rate. On price, a CCA's negotiated rate can come in above or below the utility's default supply rate depending on market conditions at the time it was set, so being on a CCA is not automatically a savings guarantee.
What this means for a business specifically
If your business operates in a CCA territory, the CCA's rate has effectively become your area's "default" rate in the same way a utility's standard supply rate would be anywhere else — which means it deserves the same scrutiny. Check whether your CCA rate (fixed or variable, and at what price) is actually competitive against offers from licensed competitive suppliers in your market, the same way you'd evaluate any utility default rate before deciding to shop or stay put.
Frequently asked questions
Is my business automatically enrolled in Community Choice Aggregation?
In most CCA programs, yes — businesses and residents within the CCA's service territory are automatically enrolled as the default, unless they actively opt out to a competitive supplier or back to the incumbent utility's standard service.
Which states have Community Choice Aggregation programs?
California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, and Rhode Island have active CCA programs as of 2026, with several other states having passed enabling legislation for future programs. Availability depends on your specific city or county, not just your state, since CCA is adopted locally.
Does my utility still deliver electricity if my business is in a CCA?
Yes. The incumbent utility continues to own the wires, deliver electricity, handle outages, and bill for delivery charges regardless of CCA enrollment — CCA only changes who supplies the electricity itself and negotiates that portion of the rate.
See this on your own bill
Upload your commercial electric bill and Certo reads it for you — a free bill health score, a plain-English breakdown, and whether your rate is competitive.
Managing energy costs across a business?
Certo for Business tracks bill history and rate changes across locations, so you always know whether your default supply — CCA or utility — is still your best option.