Why Doesn't LADWP's Green Power Program Wield More Power?

By Kathy Seal

What You Can Do To Curb Greenhouse Gases!

Do you pay a DWP bill every month?

If you're one of the 1.4 million households (or businesses) who do, are you signed up for the Los Angeles DWP's Green Power program?

If you're not, it's not your fault - the DWP barely promotes this worthy program. After muck-rakers pointed out the folly of a promotional concert and marathon, the agency cut its Green Power promotion budget nearly to zero. In 2007, it spent only $3900 on marketing, and that went to print and mail the program's annual report, as required by ordinance.

That doesn't mean you still can't sign up. All you have to do is fill out a form at https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/rebates/GreenPowerRes.ladwp?act=init&contentId=LADWP_GRNPWRRES_SCID, or call 1-800-DIAL-DWP (800-342-5397) and they'll mail you the form.

After signing up, you'll pay a small premium - 3 cents per kilowatt hour - to build up a fund that then buys renewable energy for DWP customers.

If you decide to sign up, you can choose to pay the premium on from 20% to 100% of the electricity you buy from DWP. So if you agree to pay the premium on 20% and use 1000 kWh over two months, you'll pay $6. The green power you buy with the premium goes into the overall power mix.

This renewable energy you'll buy goes above and beyond the renewable energy goals mandated by government. As you probably know, Mayor Villaraigosa has set a goal of DWP providing 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. That goal is also called the RPS or Renewable Portfolio Standard. And proposed state legislation says we all have to reach 33% renewables by 2020. To its credit, DWP is trying to reach 35% by 2020.

Green Power isn't reaching its potential, since only about 23,000 residential customers and 700 businesses now subscribe, out of the 1.4 million DWP customers. We could do so much better! Portland, with 800,000 customers, had three times as many subscribers (61,000) to its green power program in 2007. Sacramento with less than half as many customers (600,000) as the DWP, had 43,500 signed up.

DWP launched Green Power, after the energy deregulation of 1997, when the utility thought other energy providers might lure customers away by offering renewables. Since then Green Power has provided more than 558,000 megawatt hours (mWhs) of renewable energy to Los Angeles. (One mWh = 1000 kWh.)

In 2007, Green Power bought 66,223 megawatt hours of renewable energy, enough to supply about 11000 homes in LA for one year. Most of that - 82%-- came from hydroelectric generation, and the rest from landfill gas/biomass. According the DWP, that prevented generation of more than 82 million pounds of CO2 emissions. That's comparable to taking more than 67,000 cars off the road for a year.

Los Angeles' Green Power program has two big problems, however. The first is that it usually buys renewable energy on the spot market, which commands the highest price. That averaged eight cents per kWh in 2008. It would be much cheaper to hire a broker who scoured the market daily for the cheapest prices for renewables. Some power companies have negotiated long-term contracts with much lower prices.

In Sacramento for example the green power charge is one cent per kWh. Of 12 programs in California as of May 2008 all but one charged less than the DWP program. [see chart below]

The second and related problem is that the program doesn't raise enough money to pay for the power it buys. In 2001 Green Power received a $5 million public benefits subsidy to pay the shortfall, but this is running out. Only $1.6 million was left in this fund by the end of last year. This fund was created by the original legislation creating Green Power; it's a line item on our DWP bills. To refill it, the DWP Board of Commissioners would have to reallocate money to it.

Do you want to reduce your contribution to global warming easily? Then why not do as more than 23,700 people have already done? Sign up now with DWP for 100% green power! (Or sign with another municipal utility if you live in one of the cities below. Unfortunately, green power is not available from Southern California Edison.) You can then turn on your lights and TV knowing feeling great about not adding more greenhouse gases to our already over-heated planet.

If you're interested in this topic and would like to work on this issue, please email us at globalwarmingaction@gmail.com. (Don't have email? Call the chapter office and leave a message for Kathy Seal or Jim Stewart.)

Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy Green Power Network at
http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/buying/buying_power.shtml?state=CA