As she waited for the change to take effect, her December bill came in with an even higher rate. “They’re soaking me, because it’s their last chance,” she said.

This complaint — that CleanChoice is charging above market rates, despite the company’s pledge to adhere to market trends — is at the heart of a class-action lawsuit filed late last year on behalf of Massachusetts customers.

It’s just the latest forum in the clash between consumers, regulators, and third-party electricity suppliers, confrontations that have also played out in attempted legislative changes, rebukes and fines from regulators, and stinging reports from the attorney general’s office.

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in Boston, alsoalleges CleanChoice makes misleading claims that its electricity comes from local solar and wind farms, when in reality, the electricity powering their customers’ homes is the same as it is for all customers, coming from a mix of largely fossil fuel-generated power. The company’s green investments actually come primarily in the form of credits the company purchases at renewable energy developments that can be local or in other parts of the nation.

Ikels isn’t part of the lawsuit, but customers like her, who choose CleanChoice, are opting to pay slightly more than the basic service rate at their utility so they can have what their website bills as “100 percent clean energy.”

“These folks [CleanChoice], they’re not different than a fruit stand that goes and buys a tomato at the wholesale market,” said Burkett McInturff, one of the lawyers behind the lawsuit. “But they’re selling a tomato at the price of like a wagyu steak.”

CleanChoice spokesperson Kate Colarulli said the company stands by its offerings and noted that the vast majority of its customers are on fixed rates — not the variable rates described in the lawsuit, and which Ikels had.

Colarulli said the system of purchasing renewable energy credits as offsets is a well-established way of expanding green energy overall. In addition to relying on the credits, the company develops, constructs, and finances solar farms, she said.

In September, Massachusetts regulators threatened CleanChoice with a $5.1 million fine over a similar concern that the company was switching customers to variable rates that climbed higher over several months, resulting in rates that were 133 percent or 214 percent higher than the initial sign-up. Regulators also allege that CleanChoice used out-of-date comparisons on its mailers when trying to entice consumers.

That proceeding, at the state Department of Public Utilities, is ongoing and could also lead to revocation of CleanChoice’s license to operate as a third-party electricity supplier in Massachusetts.

CleanChoice is among dozens of third party competitive suppliers — electricity providers that consumers can sign up with to try to find a better rate than what’s offered by their utility. Massachusetts is one of roughly 12 states that allow the practice.

For years, politicians including Governor Maura Healey, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and members of the Legislature have sought to ban the practice of selling to residential customers, arguing that third-party providers have targeted low-income and non-English speaking customers, pushing them onto high-cost plans or signing them up without their knowledge.

Between July 2023 and June 2024, Massachusetts customers on third-party suppliers overpaid collectively by $73 million, compared with sticking with their utility’s basic service rate, according to a 2025 report from Campbell’s office.

But those who support third-party competitive suppliers have pushed back, arguing that consumers can save money by shopping around for their energy supply, and that better regulations and punishments for bad actors should be able to get the system in line.

Last year, despite supportin the state Senatefor a ban on allowing third-party suppliers from selling to residents, and backing from the governor and attorney general, the Legislature failed to take action on the issue.

Camila Gomez deals every day with customers who have found themselves paying extremely high energy bills because of third party suppliers. She’s a community outreach ambassador for All In Energy, a nonprofit based in Roslindalethat promotes green energy in underserved communities.

Last summer, Gomez was tabling at an event in Lowell when she was approached by residents wondering if she was the one offering free phones. She quickly realized it was a different table — one hosted by CleanChoice —that was offering phones, headphones, speakers, and more to people willing to sign up.

She wandered over and pretended to be a customer. “They told me, if you want one of these free things, you show me your gas or electric bill,” Gomez recalled. Her worry was that since there is a large non-English-speaking community in Lowell, people could be signing up without knowing what they were agreeing to.

The class action lawsuit in Massachusetts is not the first to be brought against CleanChoice. An earlier, similar lawsuit was thrown out by a federal judge in Massachusetts who found CleanChoice had made it clear in its contract that the variable rate would take several factors — in addition to market rates — into account. That case is being appealed, and lawyers associated with themore recent lawsuit said the contracts included in the case make it less vulnerable to that argument.

In New York State, a similar lawsuit against CleanChoice is in the discovery phase.

Hessann Farooqi, executive director of the Boston Climate Action Network, said he was glad to hear the newest lawsuit in Massachusetts is happening.

“CleanChoice energy is one of the most prolific bad actors in a sea of bad actors,” said Farooqi.

“They’re saying that they have to charge this immense premium just because of market conditions,” he said. But Boston’s municipal electricity supplier, known as Boston Community Choice Electricity,offers a base rate of 13.6 cents per kilowatt hour, 2 cents less than the Eversource base rate. The Boston plan also offers 100 percent green energy options for just over 16 cents per kilowatt hour.

On her latest bill — the one that soaked her — Ikels’s rate was two-and-a-half times that.

Sabrina Shankman can be reached at sabrina.shankman@globe.com.