|
City of Cuyahoga Falls Establishes Partnership Giving Customers Opportunity to Choose
[Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio] ([February 24, 2004]) ? The City of Cuyahoga Falls has announced a partnership with American Municipal Power-Ohio (AMP-Ohio) and Green Mountain Energy Company for its new ?green pricing? program. Under the program, Green Mountain will provide 100 percent renewable energy, based on electric usage of customers opting to participate. The deal is part of an ongoing program between Green Mountain Energy Company, AMP-Ohio and Hometown Connections, a subsidiary of the American Public Power Association (APPA). Hometown Connections partnered with Green Mountain Energy Company to develop customized green pricing programs for utilities owned by local, regional and state governments to offer the Nature?s Energy® brand of renewable electricity to their customers.
Beginning in early March, Cuyahoga Falls? 24,000 customers will be able to sign up for a renewable electricity option consisting of wind and hydroelectric power. While customers participating in the program will not have electricity from a specific generation facility delivered directly to their home or business, the purchase results in renewable energy, equal to the annual purchase, being delivered to regional power grids. The cost of electricity under the program is an additional 1.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, or approximately $8-$10 per month for the average residential customer.
Commercial customers can also participate in the green pricing program through the purchase of one-megawatt hour blocks as part of their electric demand. Each commercial block will cost an additional $13. ?The city of Cuyahoga Falls is committed to providing this innovative, environmentally friendly service that meets the needs of our customers,? said Mayor Don Robart. "We're excited about this partnership. By working with AMP-Ohio and Green Mountain we help grow the number of customers choosing reliable, cleaner power, to the benefit of our city, state and region." The city of Cuyahoga Falls chose this program as a customized green pricing option to Cuyahoga Falls? customers with little cost and virtually no risk to the city
?We are excited to work with Cuyahoga Falls to provide customers the choice to purchase 100 percent renewable electricity,? said Green Mountain Senior Vice President John Savage. ?This agreement continues to move us forward along the path we have taken to change the way power is made."
Green Mountain Energy Company and AMP-Ohio will provide a variety of sales and marketing tools, including consumer marketing material templates, a Web-based sign-up tool, and customer care training to help Cuyahoga Falls develop an efficient and cost effective green pricing program. Additionally, Green Mountain Energy Company will be responsible for the energy supply and management of the program.
?This is a great opportunity for Cuyahoga Falls residential and commercial customers to purchase electricity from renewable sources and contribute to the development of new renewable energy resources in Ohio,? said Marc Gerken, president of AMP-Ohio. ?We are excited to be in partnership with Green Mountain to grow the number of customers choosing reliable, renewable power and to expand the demand for renewables in the region.?
Tim Blodgett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hometown Connections also emphasized the importance of this partnership. ?Hometown Connections is pleased to partner with Green Mountain Energy Company to give customers of public power utilities across the U.S. a voluntary, low-cost way to expand the use of renewable resources,? he said. ?Now, more than ever, our nation is focused on the value of developing renewable energy resources. The Nature?s Energy® program from Cuyahoga Falls demonstrates that the public power sector of the electric utility industry is leading this important effort.?
Customers purchasing 750 KWh a month who participate in this program can avoid the release of an estimated 17,100 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air annually. That would avoid as much CO2 as not driving 19,000 miles a year. For more information on the program, contact the city of Cuyahoga Falls at http://www.cityofcf.com/or (330) 971-8250.
AMP-Ohio is the Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit wholesale power supplier and services provider for 81 member municipal electric systems in Ohio, five in Pennsylvania, two in West Virginia and one in Michigan. Formed in 1971, the organization is owned and governed by its member communities, dedicated to providing member assistance and low-cost power supply. In addition, AMP-Ohio serves as the project manager for groups of municipal electric communities participating in joint ventures to share ownership of generation and related facilities. For more information, visit http://www.amp-ohio.org/.
About Green Mountain Energy Company Founded in 1997 to ?change the way power is made,? Green Mountain Energy Company (www.greenmountain.com) sells cleaner electricity generated from sources such as wind, solar, water, geothermal, biomass and natural gas to residential, business, institutional and governmental customers. Nearly 600,000 consumers and businesses in California, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas have chosen Green Mountain Energy® electricity, which is dramatically less-polluting than typical system power in those states. The company is based in Austin, Texas.
About Hometown Connections International, LLC Hometown Connections is a majority-owned subsidiary of the American Public Power Association (APPA), a Washington, D.C.-based national service organization representing the interests of the nation's more than 2,000 community-and state-owned electric utilities. Hometown Connections supports APPA members by securing national group pricing and service arrangements from leading industry suppliers. For more information, visit http://www.hometownconnections.com.
|
