Johnson City Power Board introduces Green Power Switch to the Tri-Cities

Wednesday, January 23, 2002

Johnson City Power Board introduces Green Power Switch to
the Tri-Cities
By GARREN SHIPLEY

JOHNSON CITY - Johnson City power customers can now get environmentally friendly electricity for their homes for as little as $4 extra per month.

Johnson City Power Board officials rolled out their part of the Tennessee Valley Authority's Green Power Switch program Tuesday night to a packed house at JCPB headquarters.

The plan allows power customers to choose the source of their electricity - traditional coal-fired plants for the regular rate, or environmentally friendly plants at a slightly higher one.

Homer G'Fellers, JCPB's marketing director and executive in charge of the utility's Green Power drive, said the extra charge is applied to power bills in "blocks" of $4.

For every $4 added to the bill, a total of 150 kilowatt-hours of electricity from green sources will be added to the TVA power grid, he said.

TVA started a pilot program last year and sold more than 1,600 more blocks of power than the 9,000 it had anticipated.

"There are no contracts, but we do ask that they purchase the green power in at least $4 blocks," G'Fellers said.

At the end of the year, TVA will be audited to be sure that the entire amount of green power paid for was actually produced.

Money raised from the charges will go to offset the higher costs of generating power in an environmentally friendly fashion.

The system makes use of a series of solar, wind turbine and methane reclamation power plants.

The methane plants use the gases escaping from old landfills to produce electricity.

Environmental groups are pleased with the plan and its success.

"It's kind of unusual to see an environmental group working with a utility," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a regional environmental advocacy group.

"We've been critical of TVA's generation methods and ... its air pollution," he said.

But green power has a tremendous potential in Tennessee, he said, given that the state is the nation's highest per household user of electricity.

"Every kilowatt-hour of electricity represents one pound of coal," he said.

For $8 a month, according to TVA, one household can remove the same amount of coal-fired air pollution from the environment as recycling more than 1,700 pounds of newspaper or 480 pounds of aluminum cans.

There is no upper limit on how much green power a customer can purchase, G'Fellers said.

Eventually, all TVA-powered local utilities will have the option of signing on with the new program, he said, and even some non-TVA power grids are working on similar programs.

While American Electric Power, which serves parts of Kingsport, does not yet have a green power purchase program, other companies in the south like Southern Cos. do, Smith said.

To sign up for the Green Power Switch, contact JCPB's main office at 434-4000 or visit them online at www.jcpb.com.