WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

H 3581

An Act supporting electrical load aggregation programs in the Commonwealth

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Tommy Vitolo

The bill enables municipalities to create and manage electrical load aggregation programs that offer customized, potentially lower-cost electricity options while protecting consume

Reporting date extended to Wednesday, December 3, 2025
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · H 3581

Summary of H.3581: An Act supporting electrical load aggregation programs in the Commonwealth

Purpose and Intent

The bill promotes municipal electrical load aggregation programs as tools for customized electricity supply offerings. It aims to help municipalities address local needs, potentially lowering costs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, supporting renewable energy development, and enabling beneficial electrification. By empowering municipalities to create and adapt aggregation programs and to communicate with consumers in ways that reflect local preferences, the bill seeks to broaden access to alternative electricity supply solutions for residential and small business customers.

Key Provisions

Data and privacy (Section 2)

  • Adds to General Laws: data associated with an individual electricity consumer obtained by a public aggregator is recognized (and thus governed) in this framework. This clarifies the handling of consumer data by public aggregators.

Automatic enrollment, disclosures, and data sharing (Section 3)

  • Aggregated entity duties: must inform participating ratepayers in advance about automatic enrollment and their opt-out rights, with no penalties.
  • Clear disclosure of charges, the basic service rate, access methods, and the availability of competitive options (with resources from the Department of Energy Resources to help comparisons).
  • Municipal electric distribution companies (EDCs) must provide to aggregators a current list of eligible consumers within the municipality, including names, addresses, emails, service addresses, and rate classes, and to identify accounts not currently receiving generation from a competitive supplier for enrollment purposes.
  • Consumers can request that personal identifiers (name, mailing address, account number) not be shared with the municipality.
  • The aggregated entity may use provided data solely for the aggregation program; email addresses may be used only for program communications.
  • Data from participating and auto-enrolled consumers must be kept confidential and protected; sharing with third parties is restricted and permitted only as necessary for program implementation under non-disclosure terms.
  • The electric distribution company will assist by providing necessary data to enable enrollment and program operations.

Advanced metering data access (Section 4)

  • Amends access to detailed AMI data: suppliers and other third parties may access detailed AMI data with customer approval, including municipal aggregators’ accounts enrolled and eligible for automatic enrollment (usage, peak demand, supplier information, etc.).

Billing options (Section 5)

  • Introduces a pathway for a single bill option from electric utilities to be available to all non-utility suppliers as rate-ready (and, when rate-ready AMI billing is available, bill-ready). This single-bill option would apply to supplier contracts with municipal aggregators and to large commercial/industrial customers. The utility would calculate energy-related charges based on supplier inputs for agreed parameters, subject to future billing capabilities.

Affected Parties and Impacts

  • Municipalities: empowered to create/adapt load aggregation programs; responsible for outreach, enrollment, and communication with residents and small businesses.
  • Ratepayers: potential access to new, cost-effective electricity options; rights to opt out without penalty; increased information disclosures.
  • Municipal aggregators and non-utility suppliers: expanded data access (AMI data) and participation in single-bill arrangements under specified conditions.
  • Electric distribution companies: role in data provisioning, enrollment processes, and facilitating program administration.

Legislative Actions and Timeline

  • Referred to the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy on 2025-02-27.
  • Hearing scheduled for 2025-06-12 (01:00 PM–05:00 PM, A-2).
  • Reporting date extended to 2025-12-03 (Wednesday).
  • Related bill: HD 3415 (replaces).

Notes

The bill emphasizes consumer protection (opt-out rights, data confidentiality) while expanding the data and operational framework necessary for municipal load aggregation programs to function effectively.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.