Green Power program

[Travis]

My regional utility Pugent Sound Energy charges $.09/KWh up to 600KWh and $.11 after that.  About 40% of PSE's energy comes from hydro with the rest being coal and natural gas.  They have a program where you can get a larger percentage of your energy from renewable sources for a slightly higher price.  They offer 100% of your energy for an extra $ .0125 per KWh or you can buy 162 KWh blocks of energy for $2 each with a minimum purchase of $4.  I'm currently auditing my apartment to get my bill lower (739KWh this month), but I was thinking this sounds like good deal.  Thoughts?

[greaper007]

.11 a KWH sounds great, is that after all the fees are added in?    I'm billed at .046 a KWH but after fees and taxes it ends up being .12, so at .11 you may end up at .15-.25.

[Cromacster]

In reality this is a sham.  It's there to make you feel warm and gooey. 

But let me explain....They can't direct power only from "green" sources to your house.  Its just not possible.

Do they use the extra money to invest in more green energy sources? Maybe.  Is that worth the extra money?  That's up to you I guess.

[greaper007]

Crom, it depends.   I know there are massive community solar arrays that you can buy into in Colorado.   Most power companies are buying their power as a commodity on the open market, they don't actually produce it.   Thus they can buy from greener collectives, what that means is open to interpretation though.   NG is ~20% cleaner than coal, they also might be throwing in a wind farm, hydro or a solar array here or there also.

[Travis]

I should have mentioned in the program they specifically discuss buying solar and wind from outside sources.

As far as my actual bill and service, I'm billed at .09-.11 for the actual electricity, with a 6.6% city tax, $7.87 service fee, and a .0046/KWh conservation fee.  In total my bill comes out to .10/KWh.

[Cromacster]

All the matters is where you are located.  Main sources of energy for any grid are going to be coal, natural gas, or nuclear.  If you are in the right location you have hydro.  Wind and Solar reduce the demand from these sources.  The extra costs are essentially for the utility companies to add more solar and wind options.  But doesn't matter if you buy into anything, they can't direct specific electrons from a specific source to your house.

The sham part is how they market it.  They try to make it seem like you will only be receiving energy from renewable sources.