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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
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| OCTOBER 22, 1998
11:58 AM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Public Citizen |
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| New Report Shows California Consumers Deceived by "Green" Electricity Marketing Claims; Ratepayers Pay Extra Dollars for Sham Benefit | ||||
| WASHINGTON -
October 22 - A ground-breaking new study released today by Public Citizen shows that the
marketing of "green" electricity in California’s newly deregulated utility
market is largely a hoax on consumers and results in little or no benefit to the
environment. "The electric utility industry is justifying deregulation by claiming there are environmental benefits, such as the marketing of green electricity, but in fact the ‘green’ is going mostly into the pockets of marketers," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook. According to the report, consumers who choose green electricity pay an average of $10 extra per month for it. An estimated 75-95 percent of that cost goes toward covering marketing and overhead and does not result in an expansion of renewable energy generation. Green electricity is generated from wind, geothermal, solar and other sustainable, non-polluting power sources. "Most marketers are making renewable energy the ‘boutique option’ and taking advantage of people who want to do the right thing," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy Project. "They are deceiving ratepayers into believing the extra dollars they pay for ‘green’ electricity are actually promoting the greater use of clean, renewable energy sources, when that is clearly not the case." The report, Green Buyers Beware: A Critical Review of "Green Electricity" Products, reviews the content and cost of green power products being offered in California and analyzes the claims being made about them. California is one of the first states to open its electric utility market to retail competition. A number of states are following suit. The green electricity bought by California consumers comes largely from renewable energy sources controlled by utilities and is already being paid for by those utilities’ customers. The electricity is simply being repackaged and sold at higher prices. The result of a consumer’s purchase of green electricity can in some cases lead to the extended operation of fossil fuel plants and greater pollution. "The message in this is that consumers should look very carefully at claims dealing with green energy, and they should demand policy changes that result in real gains, not bogus claims," Hauter said. "We will encourage the California State Attorney General’s Office to look into this situation." The report, written by energy consultant Nancy Rader of Berkeley, Calif., found that only one marketer of green electricity exclusively sells power that is not repackaged from existing utility resources. "The bottom line is, reselling utility resources does not result in any additional generation of renewable energy, such as wind or biomass power, and so it makes no difference to the environment," said Rader. "Clearly, consumers are being deceived by claims that they are helping the planet by purchasing these so-called green products." Other major findings include:
Significant policy changes are needed to make green electricity a larger part of our energy future, Hauter said. For example, consumers need to have the right to work with their local governments or purchasing agent to buy green power directly from producers on behalf of all citizens in the community, making green power both affordable and meaningful. Currently, this "community choice" is impossible under California’s utility restructuring legislation. ### |
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