WORCESTER, Mass. - As Worcester finishes out its nearly three-year contract with Direct Energy Services for electricity, city officials are looking to their next aggregation plan. 

The Worcester Community Choice Electricity Aggregation program aims to improve sustainability and reduce the city’s carbon footprint. It also looks to stabilize electricity supply costs and protect consumers. 

The city’s Department of Sustainability and Resilience said other third party electricity suppliers have been reaching out to residents with a teaser rate, and the city wants to make sure residents know how to protect themselves.

Chief Sustainability Officer, John Odell, said the city's process is well vetted and there are no hidden costs. 

“The big important thing is because you’re with us in this aggregation, you’re not going to be solicited by folks and automatically transferred to a third party teaser rate,” Odell said. “You would have to actively end the contract with us before you can join the new one and that extra step protects a lot of people.”

The current contract with Direct Energy ends in December. The city will begin looking for a new company in the fall. 

The city is asking anyone affected by a third-party vendor to reach out to them at greenworcester@worcesterma.gov.