Columbia residents who have enrolled in the city’s Municipal Electric Aggregation Program will need to find a new supplier in the next two months.

The City of Columbia announced Monday that as of the May 2025 meter reading, the aggregation program was discontinued.

The program, which began in 2019, allowed Columbia residents and small businesses to opt in to a locked rate based on contracts made with various electric suppliers, typically at a lower rate than Ameren Illinois, the city’s default provider.

Following the program being terminated, those who had been participating in the program will automatically return to Ameren Illinois for electricity supply service if another supplier is not chosen within an approximately two-month window.

According to a City of Columbia press release, the change is the result of recent bid pricing received through the city’s aggregation consultant, Good Energy LP, which confirmed that no competitive retail electric supplier offer could beat the current Ameren Illinois default supply rate. 

The most recent offer for an 18-month contract was more than one cent higher than Ameren’s “fully defined” current rate of $0.08277 per kilowatt hour.

The release emphasizes that the program has not been permanently terminated and can be reinstated if the city is able to secure a more competitive electricity supply rate through aggregation.

City officials are expected to re-evaluate market conditions in spring 2026.

Participating customers will receive a letter from Ameren this month notifying them that their current electric choice is ending. 

Once notification is received, customers have  approximately 60 days – or two electric billing cycles – to choose a new electricity supplier or take no action and automatically become Ameren customers.

Those wishing to select a new retail electric supplier may do so by visiting PlugInIllinois.com and choosing from one of more than 40 suppliers listed on the Illinois Commerce Commission’s Plug-In Illinois website.

Customers who choose to go with Ameren must remain with the company for a minimum of 12 billing months.

If price stability is a concern, the release states that city officials recommend former aggregation customers take no action and allow Ameren to become their supplier, at least for the next 12 months.