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PSE Encourages Customers to Go Green
BELLEVUE, Wash., Mar 28, 2007 -- BUSINESS WIRE
Washington-based Puget Sound Energy (PSE) (utility subsidiary of Puget Energy (NYSE:PSD)) is making it easier and more affordable for residential and business customers to choose to be more "green" in their electricity usage when they sign up for the company's Green Power Program, which supports the development of additional renewable energy resources in the Pacific Northwest. "PSE is committed to bringing more carbon neutral renewable energy to market and to giving our customers the opportunity to support more green power," said Cal Shirley, vice president of Energy Efficiency Services for PSE. "We are working hard to improve the efficiencies of PSE's Green Power Program to pass along cost savings to customers. Customers can design their own renewable energy plans, purchasing blocks of renewable energy or choosing to go totally green." Large-volume customers, such as industries, governments and colleges, also will have the option to select either a 100 percent or a fixed plan at a reduced rate. The new PSE residential and business Green Power rate will be 1.25 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), down from 2 cents per kWh. Large-volume customer rates will drop to 0.6 cents per kWh from 1.0 cents per kWh. "Each dollar customers spend to support the development of renewable energy will buy even more green power," explained Shirley. "For as little as $4 per month, PSE customers can support the purchase of 320 kWh of electricity generated by renewable resources in the Pacific Northwest. A customer spending $6 a month on green power, will be buying a block of 480 kWh of green power, up from 300 kWh. An energy efficient household that uses 800 kWh per month will be able to pay only $10 more to go totally green." The renewable energy resources supported by the PSE Green Power Program include wind, solar, landfill gas, and biomass from clean wood waste and agriculture. Electricity generated by Green Power-supported renewable resources is delivered to the Northwest power supply grid, increasing the ratio of renewable energy in the Northwest power pool. Since 2002, PSE's Green Power Program, identified as one of the top 10 in the country by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has offered customers the option to voluntarily support renewable energy. PSE has set a goal to have more than 20,000 customers (2 percent of PSE's customer base) participate in the program this year. Green-power purchases by PSE customers climbed to 131 million kWh in 2006 -- a 45 percent increase from the previous year. This growth allowed PSE to add new green-power resources to the Green Power Program portfolio for 2007 -- including a biomass project developed by Washington-based Grays Harbor Paper. For more information, or to increase green-power purchases or sign up for the new 100 percent option, call a PSE Energy Advisor at 1-800-562-1482 or visit PSE online at pse.com. About Puget Sound Energy Washington state's oldest and largest energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile service territory stretching across 11 counties, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) serves more than 1 million electric customers and 713,000 natural gas customers. PSE, a subsidiary of Puget Energy (NYSE: PSD), meets the energy needs of its growing customer base through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, low-cost procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. For more information, visit www.pse.com . SOURCE: Puget Sound Energy News Provided By |
