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Buying Clean Electricity in Competitive Markets

In some parts of the country, consumers can choose not only how their electricity is generated, but also who generates it.

Just as the long-distance telephone industry was restructured, certain states have restructured their electricity industry in order to allow competition among electricity generators. In some of these states, clean power generators, who specialize in producing electricity using renewable sources, are taking advantage of the restructured market to sell clean power products to residential, commercial, and wholesale customers. Some default suppliers are also teaming with these competitive marketers to offer more green power options.

Efforts to sell clean power are aimed at consumers who will choose to pay slightly more for renewable energy products and services that reflect their environmental values. The small premium you pay offsets the additional costs power companies incur in purchasing and/or generating electricity from renewable sources.