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September 2011 - The University of Utah is now purchasing more than 98 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable wind energy generation. The university's participation in Rocky Mountain Power's Blue Sky Renewable Energy Program is made possible through a student fee-funded sustainability program. Renewable energy is provided to the university via renewable energy credits (RECs), which are purchased through Rocky Mountain Power and 3Degrees.
The university's Office of Sustainability is encouraging students, faculty and staff to utilize renewable energy by signing up for the Blue Sky Program. Rocky Mountain Power is offering a challenge grant during the upcoming public radio fall pledge drive, allowing public radio members to enroll in Blue Sky when they make a donation to the public radio station.
News Release -
Green Power at the U Goes Big with Blue Sky Visionary Designation
May 2010 - Using information provided by utilities, National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) has released new "Top 10" rankings of utility programs for 2009 in the following categories: total sales of renewable energy to program participants, total number of customer participants, the percentage of customer participation, green power sales as a percentage of total utility retail electricity sales, and the lowest price premium charged for a green power program using new renewable resources.
Ranked by renewable energy sales (kWh/year), Austin Energy in Austin, Texas sold the largest amount of renewable energy in the nation through its voluntary green power program. Rounding out the top five are Portland General Electric (Oregon), PacifiCorp (Ore. and five other states), the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (Calif.), and Xcel Energy (Colo., Minn., Wis. and N. Mexico).
Utility green power sales in 2009 exceeded 6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), and they represent more than 5 percent of total electricity sales for some of the most popular programs. Wind energy represents approximately two-thirds of electricity generated for green energy programs nationwide.
News Release - NREL Highlights Utility Green Power Leaders
Additional Information - NREL Top 10 Utility Green Power Programs
Contact: Jenny Sumner, 303-275-4366
August 2009 - Three Utah towns, Alpine, American Fork and Lindon, are taking on a community challenge from Rocky Mountain Power to reach a 5% participation rate in the utility's Blue Sky voluntary green power program before September 30, 2009. In the Blue Sky program, power customers can buy renewable energy certificates (RECs) in blocks of 100 kilowatt-hours for $1.95 per month.
To encourage residents to participate in the program, each of the three cities has agreed to purchase 700 kilowatt-hours of RECs. Also, Alpine has helped foster renewable energy by passing an ordinance allowing residents to install their own wind turbines in their backyards to generate their household electricity.
News Release - Utah County utility, cities challenge residents to support renewable energy
March 2009 - BD Medical and Millipore Corp. collectively committed to purchase 47 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually and joined the Green-e Marketplace program, which enables them to display the Green-e logo on product packaging or marketing materials to help customers identify products and services produced using certified renewable energy. The BD Medical facility located in Sandy, Utah purchased 37 million kWh of wind energy from Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky Energy program to meet 100% of its energy needs for manufacturing two of its safety-engineered devices. The Millipore Corp. located in Billerica, Massachusetts purchased 10 million kWh from 3Degrees to offset 100% of its electricity use in its facilities in Temecula and Anderson, California, St. Charles, Missouri, and Danvers, Massachusetts.
News Release - BD Ranks 23rd on EPA’s Fortune 500 List of Green Power Purchasers
News Release - Millipore Joins EPA’s Green Power Partnership
News Release - Medical and Life Science Leaders Join Green-e Marketplace
With 100% Renewable Energy Purchase
June 2008 - Over the past two years, utilities and their marketing partners have increased the use of "green power challenges" to increase participation and awareness for their green pricing programs. The utility typically develops the challenge in partnership with local governments, who make their own purchase in conjunction with the challenge, and environmental nonprofit organizations, who can help communicate the challenge. Utility and local government decision-makers typically agree on a goal for a fixed number of sign-ups within a specified time, usually about six months.
In 2007, at least fourteen utilities offered challenges, mostly in small- to mid-sized communities, and several more have done so in 2008. Many of these utilities have done challenges in more than one of the communities within their service territories. For example, Pacific Power and its sister company, Rocky Mountain Power, have launched 11 challenges in their combined Washington, Oregon, and Utah communities. Some programs, like Xcel Energy's Windsource, have conducted a second challenge in a subsequent year in the same community, as a result of their success with the first.
Several green power challenges have exceeded their stated goals. For example, in 2007, Puget Sound Energy launched a Bellingham, Washington challenge that produced 2,000 new customers, pushing the community's participation rate to 11%. In Beaverton, Oregon, Portland General Electric's 2007 challenge set a goal of 250 enrollments and reached twice that number. Generally, challenges have been particularly successful in small towns because of the greater ease in communicating the challenge to utility customers, the greater likelihood that the mayor will prioritize the challenge, and the sense of sense of community pride the challenge can engender.
The U.S. EPA's Green Power Partnership recognizes Green Power Communities that achieve collective green power purchases of 2%, 3%, or 6% of the community's purchased electricity needs, depending on the size of the community. Recently, the agency recognized 16 communities, including those of Bellingham and Beaverton, as well as Santa Clara (CA), Bend (OR), and Palo Alto (CA).
October 2007 - Twenty-seven companies, organizations and individuals were recognized with national achievement awards at the Twelfth National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference in Philadelphia. The Green Power Leadership Awards recognize actions that are significantly advancing the development of renewable electricity sources through renewable energy markets. The awards are presented by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Center for Resource Solutions.
Among green power purchasers, the highest honors went to City of Bellingham, WA, Johnson & Johnson, Mohawk Fine Papers, Inc., PepsiCo, Staples, Wells Fargo & Company and Whole Foods Market, who were named Partner of the Year. Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power and Silicon Valley Power were named Green Power Programs of the Year and Constellation NewEnergy won for New Green Power Product. John Schaeffer of Gaiam Real Goods and William Sprately of Green Energy Ohio received the Green Power Pioneer Award.
News Release - Department of Energy Recognizes Six Leading Organizations for Helping the U.S. 'Go Green'
News Release - Who Said It’s Not Easy Being Green? EPA Recognizes Green Power Purchasing Leaders
More Information - 2007 Green Power Leadership Awards
More Information - Federal News Radio's Daily Debrief with Amy Morris (Green Power! - October 30, 2007)
June 2007 - With 7.1% of homes and businesses purchasing renewable energy, Lincoln City, Ore., became only the eighth city in the nation to be named a "Green Power Community" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership. The designation is bestowed on cities that achieve a minimum threshold of program participation among their citizenry. The city's residents purchase their green power through Pacific Power's Blue Sky renewable energy program.
News Article - Lincoln City First on Coast to Achieve 'Green Power' Status
May 2007 - Ogden City (Utah) Mayor Matthew Godfrey announced a citywide campaign to encourage residents and businesses to join the city in supporting the development of a sustainable community and energy supply by choosing renewable energy through Rocky Mountain Power's voluntary Blue Sky program. Under the program, utility customers can purchase 100-kWh monthly blocks of wind energy for $1.95 per block, or 1.95¢/kWh; businesses can buy wind energy in larger quantities with prices ranging from 0.71¢/kWh to 1.94¢/kWh depending on the number of blocks purchased. The wind energy is sourced from projects located in the western states.
The city challenge will run from May 1 to October 31, with a goal to have 5% of Ogden residents and businesses sign up to purchase green power. The city itself currently purchases enough wind energy to offset 19% of the electricity that the city uses in its buildings.
News Release - Ogden Blue Sky Community Challenge
News Article - Ogden mayor announces city's investment in renewable energy
March 2006 - PacifiCorp announced that Georgia-Pacific has become the largest purchaser of renewable energy in Pacific Power's Blue Sky green power program. The company will purchase approximately 13.5 million kWh over the next year for its Camas, Washington mill operations. While the base price of the Blue Sky product is 1.95¢/kWh, large companies can buy renewable power in bulk at a discount through Blue Sky QS (quantity savings).
News Release - Georgia-Pacific's Camas Mill Takes Lead Role in Renewable Energy Commitment with Blue Sky
News Article - G-P Feeling Blue
PacifiCorp Contact - Rhonda Rasmussen (503) 813-5156
December 2005 - The Corvallis (Oregon) City Council issued a city-wide challenge to residents and businesses to sign up for Pacific Power's Blue Sky renewable power program. Currently, about 9.5% of electricity customers in the city are enrolled in the program. The council's goal is to increase the percentage to 15%, or an additional 1,900 customers. The challenge runs through Earth Day 2006.
Under its Blue Sky Block program, residential customers can purchase renewable energy from wind farms in 100-kWh increments at a premium of $1.95, or 1.95¢/kWh. Oregon customers can also choose Blue Sky Usage (in which customers receive their equivalent energy usage from a mix of wind, biomass, and solar sources ) or Blue Sky Habitat (in which customers buy renewable energy, plus make a $2.50 monthly donation to The Nature Conservancy of Oregon to preserve native fish habitat). Pacific Power also offers a "quantity savings" program under which commercial customers can obtain a volume discount for green power purchases.
News Release - Corvallis City Council backs green energy challenge- seeks local household and business support
News Release - Corvallis challenges citizens to back renewable power
News Article - Council challenges Corvallis to adopt renewable power
October 2005 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) honored a group of organizations committed to advancing the development of green power markets in the United States. The annual Green Power Leadership Awards, recognizing leading national green power purchasers and suppliers, were presented on October 24 at the Tenth National Green Power Marketing Conference in Austin, Texas.
EPA and DOE presented awards for green power purchasing to 29 organizations. The highest honor in purchasing, the Green Power Partner of the Year Award, was presented to HSBC North America, Johnson & Johnson, the U.S. Air Force and WhiteWave Foods Company. Additional Purchaser Award winners included: Alameda County, California; Aspen Skiing Company; the Atlantic Golf division of the Brick Companies; Dagoba Organic Chocolate; FedEx Express Oakland, California Hub Facility; City of Fresno, Calif.; Green Mountain Coffee Roasters; Harvard University; the Hyatt Regency Dallas and the Hyatt Regency Dallas-Fort Worth; Mohawk Fine Papers; Safeway Inc.; St. Francis Winery and Vineyard; Starbucks Coffee; The University of Minnesota, Morris; the City of Vallejo, Calif.; Western Washington University; Whole Foods Market – Rocky Mountain Region; and the World Bank Group.
Seven awards were also presented to organizations demonstrating notable success in marketing and encouraging green power program participation. The highest honor, Green Power Program of the Year, was presented to Austin Energy's GreenChoice Program for the second consecutive year. Other Supplier Award winners included 3 Phases Energy; Enel North America, Inc.; Florida Power & Light; PacifiCorp's Blue Sky Program; PECO WIND and Community Energy; and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.
CRS presented Green Power Market Development Awards to organizations and individuals showing leadership in building and shaping the market for renewable energy. Recipients included 3 Phases Energy, Gainesville Regional Utilities, Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Blair Swezey of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
More Information - 2005 Award Ceremony Booklet (PDF 1.1 MB) Download Acrobat Reader
August 2004 - Utah Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp, introduced a new version of its Blue Sky renewable power option that lowers the cost of wind energy for large purchasers. Under the "traditional" Blue Sky option, businesses and residential customers can purchase wind energy in 100-kWh increments for $1.95 each, or a premium of 1.95¢/kWh.
Under the new Blue Sky QS (quantity savings) program, commercial customers that purchase more than 10,000 kWh of wind energy each month for at least one year can obtain a volume purchase discount. The cost is based on a downward sliding scale. For example, a commercial customer who purchases 150, 100-kWh blocks (or 15,000 kWh) of wind energy per month will pay 1.53¢/kWh, while a customer who buys 30,000 kWh per month will pay 1.12¢/kWh. The utility has developed an online calculator to help commercial customers determine the cost of their purchase.
News Release - Utah Power offers discount for large renewable power purchases
August 2003 - Pacific Power announced that it has selected 3 Phases Energy (now serviced by 3Degrees) to provide renewable energy supply and marketing services for the utility's Renewable Usage and Habitat green energy options starting Jan. 1, 2004. According to the utility, the new three-year agreement will improve upon the current products by increasing the amount of new and local renewable energy sources, including wind energy, biomass and a small amount of solar energy. The majority of the wind energy will be supplied from the Stateline wind project located along the Oregon and Washington border.
The product pricing will remain the same at 0.78¢/kWh above the utility's normal rate. The Habitat plan also includes an automatic $2.50 monthly donation to the Pacific Salmon Watershed Fund, which is an Oregon-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the restoration of native salmon habitat. Pacific Power and 3 Phases plan to offer facility tours and provide enhanced information on the renewable energy projects to help build customer participation.
News Release - Pacific Power Selects 3 Phases Energy to Provide Oregon Renewables
PacifiCorp Contact: Deston Nokes (503) 813-7291
3 Phases Contact: Dan Kalafatas (415) 561-6488
July 2003 - Two PacifiCorp utilities—Pacific Power and Utah Power—have reported a surge in customer enrollments and sales of green energy after lowering the price premium for their Blue Sky green pricing programs. On May 1, the utilities reduced the price of wind power sold through the program from $2.95 per 100-kWh block each month to $1.95 per block, or a rate premium of 1.95¢/kWh. Less than three months after lowering the rate, the number of customers enrolled in the combined programs grew by 9.2%, while sales of wind energy grew by about 30%. The effect was even more pronounced for Utah Power, where the number of customers increased by about 14% and sales grew by 41%. Of the customers who were already program participants, about one-fourth opted to increase the size of their green power purchases after the price decrease.
Separately, Utah Power announced that it has filed with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to extend the Blue Sky program to its nearly 60,000 Idaho-based customers.
News Release - Recent Blue Sky Price Dip Spurs Renewable Power Signups (PDF 135 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
News Release - Utah Power Proposes Blue Sky Wind Energy Program For Idaho
PacifiCorp Contact: Deston Nokes (503) 813-7291
June 2003 - Oregon's two investor-owned utilities, Portland General Electric (PGE) and PacifiCorp, have issued requests for proposals (RFPs) to provide tradable renewable credits and retail marketing services for their respective green pricing programs. The RFPs cover the Blended Renewable and Environmental Mitigation portfolio options that each utility offers to its residential and small commercial customers, and that are currently supplied by Green Mountain Energy Company. Each utility also offers customers its own wind-based product option.
The new three-year contracts will become effective on January 1, 2004. Proposals are due to the two utilities on July 3, 2003.
Additional Information - PGE Request for Proposals (PDF 200 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
Additional Information - PacifiCorp Request for Proposals
PGE Contact: Thor Hinckley (503) 464 8089
PacifiCorp Contact: Ken Dragoon (503) 813-5326
April 2003 - Pacific Power and Utah Power, both subsidiaries of PacifiCorp, announced that they are lowering the price of wind energy offered through the Blue Sky green pricing program "because of greater customer participation, improved technology and the reduced cost of acquiring renewable power." Effective May 1, the price will drop from $2.95 per 100-kilowatt-hour (kWh) block to $1.95 per block, or 1.95¢/kWh. More than 10,600 customers of the two utilities have enrolled in the program since it was unveiled in 2000.
Separately, the city of Moab, UT, has been promoting the Blue Sky program to its residents and businesses with a goal of achieving a town-wide participation rate of 5%. As of April 11, 110 residential customers and 25 businesses had signed up putting the town more than halfway toward meeting its goal.
News Release - Price of Blue Sky wind energy will drop May 1
News Release - Moab seeks distinction as nation's first Blue Sky community
February 2003 - For the Sake of the Salmon (4SOS), a Portland, Oregon-based non-profit organization, announced seven new salmon habitat restoration projects in Oregon resulting from the support provided by more than 6,000 customers of Pacific Power and Portland General Electric (PGE). In choosing the Salmon-Friendly renewable energy option, which is administered by Green Mountain Energy Company, customers make a monthly contribution through their electricity bill to the Pacific Salmon Watershed Fund. The contributions directly fund projects that restore habitat for threatened fish. The seven new projects will receive matching funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Community-Based Restoration Program and in-kind support from other local organizations.
News Release - Salmon Habitat Projects Reap Rewards of Renewable Power Option
4SOS Contact: Betsy Kauffman (503) 223-8511
November 2002 - Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power announced that customer sign-ups for green power products offered through the two utilities have more than tripled in just nine months. The jump came after the utilities began offering additional green power options, including renewable electricity supplied by Green Mountain Energy Company, in accordance with Oregon's electricity restructuring law. Total customer participation at the end of October stood at 29,171 total customers (28,518 residential customers and 653 small businesses) compared to about 8,200 total customers at the end of 2001.
News Release - Oregonians Make Local Renewable Energy Program One of Fastest Growing In the Country
August 2002 - Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson approved a contract to purchase wind energy to supply Salt Lake's historic City and County Building. Under the agreement, the city will purchase a total of 350 blocks of wind energy each month (or 420,000 kWh annually) from Utah Power, making it the utility's largest wind power purchaser to date. The extra cost of the wind energy will be covered with savings realized from energy efficiency improvements. The Mayor's Office is also working with the Utah Wind Power Campaign and Utah Power to develop a direct mail piece for citizens that will tout the benefits of wind power.
Utah Power offers 100-kWh blocks of renewable energy for $2.95 per month above the standard cost of electricity through its Blue Sky green pricing program.
News Release - Salt Lake City Makes Utah's Largest Purchase of Clean Wind Power
News Article - SLC Becomes Utah's Largest Buyer of Wind Electricity - No longer online at sltrib.com
March 2002 - In just two months, more than 7,000 residential and small business customers of Pacific Power and Portland General Electric (PGE) have signed up for green power. Customers of the two Oregon-based utilities can choose among three renewable energy options: a wind power option, a renewable energy blend, and a salmon-friendly product. About three-quarters of the customers who have subscribed since January have chosen one of the latter two products, which are offered by Green Mountain Energy Company in cooperation with the two utilities.
In addition, Seattle City Light has subscribed more than 1,200 customers just seven weeks after launching its green power program. The utility is signing up customers at a rate of about 40 per day, surpassing the city's expectations. Under Seattle's Green Power program, residential and business customers can contribute funds to support local renewable energy projects.
News Release - Governor Kitzhaber Proclaims March 1 'Renewable Energy Day', Celebrating New Pollution-Free Power Options and First Day of Energy Restructuring
News Release - Signups For Seattle Green Power Program Surpass 1,200 Mark
January 2002 - Beginning March 1, the 1.2 million electricity customers served by Oregon's investor-owned utilities (IOUs) will gain three new green power options. The state's electricity restructuring law requires the IOUs to offer a portfolio of service options to residential and commercial customers. Customers of Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power will have access to the following renewable energy options:
New Wind Energy - Customers can choose to buy fixed blocks of new wind generation each month through PGE's Clean Wind program or Pacific Power's Blue Sky program. Pacific Power customers will pay an additional $2.95 monthly for each 100-kWh block purchased while each 100-kWh block will cost PGE customers $3.50 more per month.
Renewable Energy Blend - Customers can purchase 100% of their actual electricity usage from wind and geothermal sources supplied by Green Mountain Energy Company. Pacific Power customers will pay 0.78¢/kWh more for this option, while PGE customers will pay 0.80¢/kWh more.
Renewable Energy and Habitat Restoration - Customers can purchase 100% of their electricity from renewable sources and also help restore native fish habitat. The power will come from Green Mountain Energy Company and the habitat restoration funds will be managed by For the Sake of the Salmon, a nonprofit conservation group. For this option, Pacific Power customers will pay the Renewable Energy Blend rate of 0.78¢/kWh plus a fixed $2.50 per month that will be applied to salmon restoration projects, while PGE customers will pay a premium of 0.99¢/kWh.
News Release - Enrollment for New Renewable Energy Options to Begin Today; PGE and Pacific Power Customers Can Choose 100% 'Green' Power for First Time
News Release - Environmental and Market-Based Options for Portland General Electric and Pacific Power Customers
January 2002 - Uinta Brewing Company, a Salt Lake City-based craft brewery, announced that it will power the operations of its new brewery and Uinta Brewhouse Pub entirely with wind energy. The company will purchase about 255,000 kWh of wind power annually through Utah Power's Blue Sky green pricing program at an additional cost of 2.95¢/kWh.
Although the purchase will raise the brewery's electricity costs by about 40%, Uinta President Will Hamill said, "This is the right thing to do for a business that sees itself as environmentally responsible." The company plans to tout the wind power purchase in its marketing materials and will encourage other consumers to buy wind.
News Release - Uinta Brewing Company Announces New State-of-the-Art Brewing Facility is Powered by 100% Wind Power
News Article - Brewery Hopes Wind Power Makes Environmental Sales Pitch a Breeze - No loonger online at sltrib.com
Uinta Contact: Will Hamill (801) 467-0909
Utah Wind Power Campaign Contact: Sarah Wright (801) 673-7156
May 2001 - PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric (PGE) announced that the Port of Portland (Oregon), which owns and maintains five marine terminals, four airports, and seven business parks, will obtain about 1% of its electricity needs from renewable resources through the two utilities' green pricing programs. The Port will purchase a total of 6.3 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable energy annually through Pacificorp's BlueSky program and PGE's Clean Wind and Salmon-Friendly Power programs. The bulk of the purchase will support the development of new wind resources.
News Release - Port of Portland Commits to Renewable Energy and Meets Regional Clean Energy Challenge
News Release - Port of Portland Purchases Green Power
PGE Contact: Mark Fryburg (503) 464-8444
RNP Contact: Diane Zipper (503) 223-4544
March 2001 - The Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) approved new energy portfolio options, including green power, that will be available to residential and small nonresidential customers of the state's two large investor-owned utilities beginning this fall. Under Oregon's 1999 restructuring law, Portland General Electric (PGE) and PacifiCorp are required to provide a market-based rate option and at least one renewable energy option.
The OPUC approved three types of renewable energy options, which essentially correspond to green power products already being offered by the two utilities. The first option is a renewable resources block product, which allows customers to buy one or more blocks of renewable power each month. The second option is a blended renewable energy product containing a minimum of 50% renewable energy with at least 15% coming from new renewable sources; the remaining product content must meet regional system average emissions as well as the state's siting standard for carbon dioxide emissions. The final option is an "environmental mitigation product," which allows customers to purchase blocks of power from renewable sources that will help restore threatened or endangered fish species.
The PUC plans to set rates for the new product options this summer. Consumers will receive enrollment packages in August and will be able to switch to one of the alternative service options starting in October.
News Release - Commission Expands Energy Choices for Consumers - No longer online at www.puc.state.or.us
News Article - PUC tells utilities to offer price plans (The Oregonian)
PUC Contact: Bob Valdez (503) 378-8962
March 2001 - PacifiCorp has filed an advice letter with the Oregon Public Utility Commission requesting approval to reduce the price premium charged for its Blue Sky renewable energy offering. The utility offers customers the option of purchasing 100-kWh blocks of electricity from newly constructed renewable energy facilities for a monthly premium of $4.75 per block or 4.75¢/kWh. PacifiCorp proposes to reduce the price premium to 2.95¢/kWh, or $2.95 per 100-kWh block. In its filing, the utility explained that "due to reductions in the forecast cost for new wind energy and increases in the forecast for market alternatives, the incremental cost of the new renewable energy has declined. This reduction is reflected in the proposed new price."
PacifiCorp Advice Letter No. 01-005 - Revised Schedule 70 – New Wind, Geothermal and Solar Power Rider
PacifiCorp Contact: Matthew Wright (503) 813-6015
April 2000 - PacifiCorp's two retail electric distribution companies, Pacific Power and Utah Power, are now offering a green power option to more than 1.5 million customers in Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Under the Blue Sky program, customers can purchase 100-kWh blocks of power from new wind projects to be constructed within the utility's service territory. Participating customers will pay a monthly premium of $4.75 per block or 4.75¢/kWh. Regulatory approval is still pending in Idaho.
News Release - Customers in Oregon, Washington and Wyoming to invest in clean wind power
News Article - PacifiCorp Wins OK for Wind Power (The Oregonian)
Pacific Power Contact: Leslie Carlson (503) 813-7282
February 2000 - On January 28th, PacifiCorp filed a "green resource" tariff in the six western states in which it sells retail electricity as either Pacific Power or Utah Power. The tariff filing fulfills a commitment made by ScottishPower and PacifiCorp during their recently concluded merger approval process. Under the proposed program, PacifiCorp will offer 100-kWh blocks of electricity from newly constructed renewable energy facilities for a monthly premium of $4.75 per block or 4.75¢/kWh. The premium is designed to cover the "above market" costs of acquiring the renewable resources as well as costs that will be incurred in marketing the green product.
PacifiCorp Contact: Brian Hedman (503) 813-6081
February 1999 - PacifiCorp reports that 28% of customers who elected to participate in the second round of Pacific Power's portfolio pilot program for residential and small commercial customers chose the green power offering. The percentage of customers selecting green power is nearly double the 15% that chose the green power option in the first round of the pilot back in June 1998.
The pilot program gives residential and small commercial customers in Klamath County, OR, a choice of service from a portfolio of electricity pricing options, including market-based pricing, renewable energy, and a community-based option to support low-income customers. The green power option is a blend of 80% existing geothermal and 20% wind energy from PacifiCorp's Wyoming wind project. Customers pay a 12% price premium for the green power option.
In total, about 6% of eligible customers chose to participate in the pilot, meaning that slightly less than 2% of eligible customers are now receiving green power.
PacifiCorp Contact: Jan Mitchell (503) 813-7281
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