 |
City of Seattle
Seattle City Council
|
NEWS ADVISORY
|
| SUBJECT: Signups For Seattle Green Power Program Surpass 1,200 Mark
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
2/28/2002 10:13:00 AM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mike Fong (206)684-8808
|
Signups For Seattle Green Power Program
Surpass 1,200 Mark
Seattle -- This year, Seattle City Light began offering customers the choice to pay more for 'green power.' Seven weeks later, 1,276 individuals are participating in the program and it is growing at a clip of 41 new sign-ups per day, surpassing all expectations.
"The response is absolutely tremendous," said Councilmember Heidi Wills, chair of the Council's Energy and Environmental Policy Committee. She added, "We knew that Seattle residents would embrace a chance to advance green power, and to do so in challenging economic times proves our local commitment to the environment is strong and unwavering."
About two-thirds of City Light's 340,000 customers received signup and program information in their bills. The rest will receive information by the end of March.
The Seattle Green Power Program was a result of state legislation passed last year calling upon electric utilities to offer customers the option of investing in renewable resources. Subsequently, Councilmember Wills sponsored legislation giving City Light's residential customers the option to contribute funds in increments of $3, $7 or $10 (business customers may choose to pay more). These local dollars go toward local renewable energy projects. The first project Councilmember Wills has asked City Light to pursue is photovoltaic panels (solar panels) on public school facilities.
"We want our customer dollars to be spent in our communities, and what better way than to benefit our public schools," said Wills. "Beyond the value of clean solar energy, we give teachers a tool to educate our children about solar power right in their classrooms."
City Light intends to pursue arrangements with Highline, Shoreline and Seattle School Districts within the next month. The first school to install solar panels is Pathfinder Elementary School in West Seattle. Come March 1, City Light will send enrollment packets to all the schools to solicit sites, and will begin reviewing location possibilities by April 15. City Light's goal is to install between 5-10 solar panels over the summer so that installations can be completed in time for school to resume in September.
With already over 1,276 participants, Seattle's Green Power program is by the far the most successful program in the state. Puget Sound Energy reported 682 participants as of this week and their customer base is more than twice the size of City Light's. A survey of other electric utilities in the state offering green power to their customers reveals that Snohomish Public Utility District has 535 participants; Avista Corporation in Spokane has 311 participants and Tacoma Power, which began its green power program in 2000, has an enrollment of only 375 customers.
Assuming an average contribution of $5 per month, Seattle's Green Power program expects to collect an annual contribution total of $90,000. City Light estimates that as participation rates continue to increase, that amount could triple by the end of the year.
Wills added that benefits of the Green Power program include increasing development of clean energy, stimulating local awareness of the environmental benefits, and helping to drive down the cost of "green" technology. Five solar panels could generate as much as 10,000 kWh of electricity per year.
Please see below for a comparative analysis of green power programs among Washington's largest electric utilities.
- 30 -
City Council
|
Electric Utility |
Green Power Enrollments |
Notable Information |
|
Avista Corporation |
311 |
"Buck –A-Block Program" – Customers can purchase wind power in 55 kWh blocks. Each block costs $1 per month. |
|
Puget Sound Energy |
682 |
"PSE Green Power Program" – Customers can purchase a minimum of 200 kWh of green power for $4 per month. Additional blocks of 100 kWh offered for $2 per month. |
|
Seattle City Light |
1,276 |
"Seattle Green Power Program" – Customers choose from increments of $3, $7 or $10. 40% funds collected go toward development of demonstration projects such as solar panels on public schools. 60% toward cost effective renewable resources. |
|
Snohomish PUD |
535 |
"Planet Power Program" – Customers can buy 350 kWh blocks of wind power for $3 per month through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. |
|
Tacoma Power |
375 |
"EverGreen Options Program" – Rolled out on Earth Day 2000. Customers can purchase Bonneville Power Administration’s environmentally preferred power for $3, $6 or $10 per month. |
| 
