I don’t know about you, but when I get my electric bill, or any bill for that matter, if it is in paper form, I dump all the inserts into recycle and just focus on the bill itself. And, even if I pay online, I’ve trained myself to ignore all ads or links other than those that say: pay bill.
I mean, I remember reading something about green power when I first signed up for Puget Sound Electric (PSE) about 17 years ago but I wasn’t clear what was so good about it and didn’t want to pay one more cent for anything. That was before climate change and the earth warming and super storms and…all sorts of mean, nasty stuff. So, I signed up.
You may be wondering, why now? My decision to act was thanks to a presentation (and challenge) PSE gave to the Sustainable Bainbridge board on Tuesday. The City of Bainbridge Island is challenging up to four other cities to increase their enrollment in green power through PSE.
Help Bainbridge Island Win $20,000-$40,00 Solar System
We only need 125 homes and/or businesses to sign up for green power in 2013, for as little as $4/month and Bainbridge Island will win $20,000 from PSE for a new solar array for the community. Sounds too good to be true, right?
Wait, there’s more. If more than 125 Bainbridge Islanders sign up for green power and Bainbridge has the highest percentage of new participants by the end of 2013 then PSE will give us an additional $20,000 for solar arrays. Wow! $40,000 for solar power. Nice.
Here’s the official word:
The program is voluntary, requires no contracts, and you can cancel at anytime. Signing up is easy. It costs as little as $4 more per month above standard utility rates to offset a portion of your electricity, $10-12 to offset 100 percent of the average homes’ usage.
PSE does not make a profit from the Green Power Program. All revenue goes back to further support independent resource projects and grow voluntary demand for cleaner energy options.
Supply and demand, that’s what it’s all about anyway. If we, as customers, don’t demand renewable energy then it won’t become a viable industry.
PSE Customers – Win Solar Power for Your Home
If that’s not enough, you can win solar power for your home too. Here’s how:
From February 21 through September 30, when you participate in PSE’s Green Power Program there are three ways to be automatically entered to win a solar panel system valued at $10,000:
1. Enroll as a new Green Power Program participant
2. If you are part of the Green Power Program upgrade to 100 percent participation
3. Already a 100 percent participant? Do nothing – you are automatically entered!
PSE’s voluntary Green Power Program makes it easy for you to buy renewable energy equal to the amount of electricity you use. For as little as 33 cents per day, in addition to your monthly electric bill, the electricity you use will be matched with renewable energy produced right here in our region. That’s good for the environment and the economy.
OK, now I feel like a PSE spokesperson, but it’s a win-win-win. More people signing up for green power creates demand for more renewable energy development, and we can win a solar system for our community — maybe even ourselves!
