August 7, 2002—North Carolina will take a major step forward in its quest to develop cleaner electric power sources and improve its air and environmental quality. Advanced Energy and the state’s electric utilities plan to file a set of proposals with the North Carolina Utilities Commission seeking approval to give electric customers the option to pay a small monthly premium to ensure that part of their electric power is generated from resources that are renewable and cleaner than traditional ones, such as coal. The NC GreenPower program would be designed to boost the production of “green power”—electric power generated from renewable sources of electricity, such as wind, solar energy, water and biomass—by creating a market and an incentive for companies to develop and sell it. Current market conditions make it too expensive for companies to profitably develop and sell such alternative sources of electricity.
Under Advanced Energy’s NC GreenPower plan, electric customers could elect to pay an extra $4 a month for blocks of electricity produced from renewable resources. The electric utilities, under “tariffs” (applications for green power rates) to be filed Friday, would agree to purchase that amount of electricity from N.C. companies that produce electricity from renewable resources.
The voluntary premiums collected from NC GreenPower consumers would be used to offset the higher costs of developing and producing such power. Advanced Energy would disburse the funds using a formula designed to promote facilities that produce power using new and cleaner technologies, such as solar, wind and various forms of biomass generation. It also would help keep some current producers—mostly hydroelectric energy producers—in business. The state currently has minimal sources of solar and wind power, two of the most desirable for long-term use. The NC GreenPower program would focus, in particular, on promoting the development and use of these renewable resources. The Utilities Commission will receive public comments on the plan and tariffs before deciding whether to approve them. The NC GreenPower program could launch within six months of approval. If NC GreenPower is approved, North Carolina will become the first state in the nation to offer a statewide green pricing program, available to all electric consumers with participation from all of the state’s electric utilities—Carolina Power & Light (CP&L), Duke Power, and Dominion North Carolina Power. Some ElectriCities and North Carolina electric cooperatives will also participate.
For more information, contact Advanced Energy.
