PPL Electric Utilities wants to know how much its customers truly care about clean, renewable energy.
The utility filed a proposal Wednesday with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to allow customers to voluntarily purchase renewable energy credits, or RECs.
The credits are generated when a wind farm or hydroelectric project somewhere puts a block of clean electricity into the power grid.
Through the PPL Electric Green Power program, PPL would buy about 500,000 renewable energy credits over four years from Radnor-based Community Energy Inc., which markets and sells renewable energy credits it generates.
Customers could voluntarily buy 100 kilowatt-hour blocks of renewable energy credits for $2.50 each. The cost would be added each month to the customer's regular electric bill.
Money raised selling the credits to PPL customers will serve as a financial incentive for Community Energy to build wind and hydroelectric projects in Pennsylvania.
Irwin "Sonny" Popowsky, the state's consumer advocate, supports the program as long as customers understand what they're buying.
"You're not buying power that is directly transmitted to your home from a particular windmill or solar panel," Popowsky said.
Paul Copleman, Community Energy spokesman, said the company operates several clean-energy projects, including the Jersey-Atlantic Wind Farm and the Bear Creek Wind Farm.
"The money PPL customers voluntarily elect to pay in the program not going to buy the renewable energy credit will be turned around and used to help drive the development of the next project," Copleman said.
Community Energy received PUC approval in 2004 for a project with PECO Energy in the Philadelphia area that is similar to the PPL Electric Green Power program.
Popowsky said more than 20,000 PECO customers have purchased renewable energy credits from Community Energy.
Ryan Hill, PPL spokesman, said PPL would not profit from its sale of credits. PPL hopes to receive PUC approval within 60 days and would like to begin selling credits in April.
PPL Electric, which distributes but does not generate electricity, currently purchases no renewable energy. It is locked into a long-term contract with PPL EnergyPlus that expires at the end of 2009.
Pennsylvania's recent Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards legislation will require PPL to supply customers with 9 percent renewable energy, or the equivalent credits, by 2011, Hill said.
"Any of the 500,000 credits left over following customer purchases would be used by PPL toward Pennsylvania's alternative energy requirement," Hill said.
In what was billed as the largest green power purchase by a state government, Gov. Ed Rendell in 2006 signed a minimum two-year commitment with Community Energy to purchase 200,000 megawatts in renewable energy credits per year.
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