Although GreenStart has been around for a few years now, lots of Rhode Islanders still don't realize they have the power to choose green energy for their homes right now, and it couldn't be simpler. So even if you have already gone green, tell a friend!

All National Grid residential electricity customers are receiving an invitation to choose green power in their utility bills this month, so it's a good time to reinforce the message with your friends. The utility’s “GreenUp” program gives these customers the choice to switch to green power right on their utility bill by choosing People's Power & Light’s New England GreenStart, a local, nonprofit energy company.

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“Switching to green power is as easy as flipping a switch,” says PP&L Deputy Director Karina Lutz. Normally, most of Rhode Islanders’ electricity comes from burning fossil fuels & nuclear power, but when they sign up for GreenStart, People's Power & Light ensures that an amount equal to their electric usage comes onto the New England electric grid from renewable sources. From the customer’s point of view, it couldn’t be easier. They still pay one bill to National Grid for both the electricity and the extra charge to green it up—2.4 cents per kilowatt hour, or about $12 for the average residential customer.  Then National Grid passes the GreenUp portion on to PP&L so that PP&L can use that premium to support renewable energy generators. The premium is tax-deductible to consumers.

A wind power generator today would have trouble competing on the open market without that premium, not because over its lifetime the wind power will be more expensive, but because a wind turbine’s costs are up front, with few operating costs and no fuel costs. In contrast, a gas-fired power plant pays for its fuel—its biggest cost—as it goes.

PP&L’s program is proven to help renewable energy projects get built locally. It has supported the wind turbine at Portsmouth Abbey from the beginning and has contracted with the Princeton (Mass.) Municipal Light Dept. to support the wind turbines it is in the process of developing now. That contract helped Princeton finance its project.  Besides wind power, New England GreenStart’s product mix includes solar, landfill gas, and small hydroelectric power, all sited in New England and mostly in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Filling out the bill insert is an easy way to sign up for New England GreenStart, or you can sign up online right now at  www.ripower.org. At the web site you can check out the animated video "The Switch," which was created by a team led by RISD grad Sarah Sandman to promote the benefits of clean energy.

“With fossil fuel depletion causing trouble throughout our economy, we need renewable energy more than ever,” said Lutz. “New England GreenStart helps more renewable energy get built faster—it costs more now, but if we build enough, renewable energy will contribute greatly to stabilizing energy prices, and eventually, it will be less expensive. But that’s not all: renewable energy is also crucial to solving the global warming problem. And we can make as much as people want.”

We know it's tough to ask folks to voluntarily pay more for their power in these uncertain economic times. But this is one investment that you can be sure will pay off in the future -- with a greener energy grid, more stable energy sources, and less dependence on foreign oil. Not to mention the immediate payoffs -- cleaner air, a greener planet, a more sustainable economy, and a clearer conscience.