According to Dominion Virginia Power, the new program provides two ways for residential and business customers to purchase renewable energy through their monthly bills beginning in January 2009.
Under both options, Dominion will purchase renewable energy certificates from producers of renewable energy in an amount equivalent to the customer participation level. This will provide customers a voluntary means of directly supporting the production of renewable energy.
The first option enables customers to specify that renewable energy certificates will be purchased in an amount equal to 100% of the electricity they use. Payment is calculated based on the customer’s monthly electrical usage and current market prices for renewable energy and is included in the monthly bill, said the company.
For a residential customer using 1,200KWh of electricity a month, the additional cost to purchase renewable energy equivalent to their monthly usage is expected to be about $14 to $18 per month, according to Dominion.
With the second option, customers can specify that a certain amount of renewable energy certificates in $2 increments be purchased, with the cost added to their monthly bills. The amount of renewable energy actually purchased depends on the dollar amount specified by the customer and on current market prices for renewable energy.
Dominion is into the production of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,000 megawatts of generation. It serves retail energy customers in 12 states.
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