Rhode Island enacted its Utility Restructuring Act in 1996. However, as of February 2001,  the "Report of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission on Electric Restructuring" concluded that most consumers had never exercised their option to purchase electricity from the competitive market, and that the actual savings obtained by customers entering the competitive market was "probably modest." Legislation is now pending before the Rhode Island General Assembly to amend Rhode Island’s electric restructuring law. According to the executive summary prepared by the bill’s sponsors, the legislation builds upon "several visible successes" in the restructuring regimes of other states. Among other things, the proposed legislation provides for municipal aggregation of retail electric loads.

As proposed, municipalities would be authorized to adopt ordinances to aggregate retail electrical loads located within their borders, and to enter agreements for the purchase of electricity to meet the aggregated load. The advantages of municipal aggregation would presumably include increased bargaining power for the consumer due to the larger volume of potential sales, and reduced costs for suppliers due to the ability to market to a single entity rather than numerous individuals.

The aggregation would occur either by aggregating only the loads of persons specifically consenting to such aggregation, or by automatically aggregating the loads of all persons who do not specifically opt out. In the case of automatic aggregation, the scheme would not take effect unless approved by a majority of the voters in an election, and the municipality would be required to make certain disclosures, including disclosure of rates, charges and other terms and conditions of enrollment. Any person enrolled in an automatic aggregation program would have an opportunity to opt out every two years without incurring a switching fee.

Following enactment of the ordinance and any required approval of the electorate, the municipality must develop a plan for the operation and governance of the aggregation program to be reviewed and approved by the Public Utilities Commission. Plans under which the cost of energy in the first year would exceed the cost of energy under the standard offer cannot be approved unless the municipality demonstrates 1) that the cost of energy under the plan will be lower than the standard offer in subsequent years, or 2) that the excess cost is due to the purchase of renewable energy.

The proposed legislation is very similar to the municipal aggregation provisions of Ohio’s electric restructuring legislation adopted in 1999. According to the Ohio Consumer Counsel’s ("OCC") "End-of-Year Report: A Review of Ohio’s Electric Market in 2001," 15% of all eligible residential consumers actually switched electric suppliers in 2001, the "vast majority" of whom ere residents of the 158 communities that have adopted municipal aggregation programs. Depending on usage, the OCC reports that aggregation customers are expected to save between 1% and 11% on the cost of electricity.