The City of Upper Arlington has recently garnered attention for its environmental leadership, securing a silver status from Ohio's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and snapping up the Clean Energy Community Award from Power a Clean Future Ohio (PCFO). The Encouraging Environmental Excellence Program, overseen by the Ohio EPA, credits and celebrates organizations that consistently outpace mere compliance, helping to shrink their ecological footprint. The commendation moves Upper Arlington up from its prior 'achieving' rating and situates it within reach of the program's coveted gold tier.
Part of the city's strategy to foster a cleaner, greener future includes an electric aggregation program launched in 2024, aiming to stabilize and reduce electrical costs for residents and businesses. Customers are allowed to actively choose a brown energy option actively, thereby making energy choices that align with their needs and values. Upper Arlington joined forces with the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC) to effectively implement this program, cueing in collective bargaining powers and enabling the community to tap into simple and reliable energy services. With SOPEC's guidance, the city assessed market rates and pinned down AEP Energy bids, securing a pricing strategy for its aggregation program, which is slated to continue through to June 2025.
Joe Flarida, the Executive Director of PCFO, offered high praise for Upper Arlington's commitment to clean energy, saying "By embracing clean energy initiatives and prioritizing solutions that reduce emissions and save residents money, Upper Arlington is setting a powerful example for communities across Ohio, Power a Clean Future Ohio is honored to recognize Upper Arlington as a Clean Energy Community at this year’s Clean Energy Champions Awards for their 100% clean energy aggregation program and to celebrate the city’s efforts to build a cleaner, healthier future for its residents and all Ohioans," according to a statement obtained by the City of Upper Arlington's official website.
The City of Upper Arlington is among an elite group of just eight communities honored with the 2024 Clean Energy Community Award. This cohort, which also includes Bexley, Cleveland Heights, Gahanna, Garfield Heights, Lakewood, Shaker Heights, and South Euclid, has leveraged tools like community choice aggregation to provide cleaner, more sustainable energy alternatives, illustrating how local governments can be at the forefront of environmental stewardship.
