Energy Company and Foundation Jointly Promote Renewable Energy

Energy Company and Foundation Jointly Promote Renewable Energy

Jul 27 - The Daily Record (Baltimore)

Talk about strange bedfellows: Pepco Energy Services has teamed up with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to jointly market and promote renewable energy to consumers in Maryland and the mid-Atlantic region. A newly launched telemarketing and direct mail campaign by Pepco Energy Services, an unregulated subsidiary of Potomac Electric Power Co., offers consumers free membership in the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as well as discounts on bay-related field trips when they sign a contract to purchase energy generated by renewable or “green” sources such as wind, solar, hydroelectric and biomass. “The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has been an important part of our environment for a long time and it only made sense that as one of the mid-Atlantic's most assertive marketers for green electricity, we would seek a partner to spread [the word] on some of the benefits,” said David Zabetakis, president and COO of Pepco Energy Services. “This is a unique opportunity to bring a really nice benefit to our consumers who are conscientious enough to want to buy green electricity,” said Zabetakis. To date, more than 25 percent of Pepco Energy's residential customers in Maryland, Washington, Virginia and Pennsylvania have agreed to purchase renewable energy, which costs slightly more than standard electricity. The company declined to provide exact figures on either its customer base or the size of the current green energy marketing campaign. Michael Shultz, a spokesman with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, estimates the organization could win as many as 1,000 new members as a result of the campaign. “One of the big issues the bay faces is air pollution and how we use energy,” Shultz said. “So to whatever extent we can help energy companies supply green energy, that's our mission. We want consumers to have healthy environmental choices.” Shultz says the organization is not offering Pepco Energy Services carte blanche, however, but rather will pick and choose which renewable energy sources it supports. For example, the environmental group backs Pepco Energy's current offering, which involves electricity generation through landfill gas conversion, which Shultz considers clean burning. But the group reserves the right to reject hydroelectric power if it cuts off dams that are crucial to spawning fish. “We're very picky,” said Shultz. Similar alliances have been tried in other states where deregulation has occurred - with mixed success. When the now- infamous Enron purchased Portland Gas & Electric in Oregon a few years ago, it won support from environmental groups but failed to live up to its promise to deliver green energy. “Normally, I'm very skeptical about green-corporate connections,” said Arjun Makhijani, president of the independent Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. Some energy suppliers, like Enron, are unable to acquire enough renewable energy to meet demand, and some charge too much for it, he said. “Whether the utility can deliver this [product] at a modest premium - and deliver it consistently - is the big question,” said Makhijani. Still, “I do think this kind of agreement is needed,” he said. “Some way has to be found to stimulate the market for renewables from the people who are willing to pay for it,” said Makhijani. “If offered the option [from Pepco Energy Services], I would look at it very closely.”

For far more extensive news on the energy/power visit: http://www.energycentral.com .